


Gospel for the Fallen Ones

by spirithorse



Series: Liberty Verse [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Temeraire - Naomi Novik, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Temeraire Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-26 01:32:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 45,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7554958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“They’ve given up too easily.” The words were snarled out, Steve feeling Liberty wince in the next moment. The dragon shifted uneasily before looking back at Steve again. “Steve, its Tony. I can’t give up on him.” A Temeraire Fusion Fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fire at Will

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in and around Iron Man 3. I’m going to be playing with ideas from the comics too, so apologies for anyone who really loves the ideas that I’ve twisted to include in this. Title taken from This is Gospel by Panic!at the Disco. Chapter titles are from Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC.

Lung Shao Jié panted for breath, the sound far too loud in the small valley that he had stumbled into. He clamped his mouth shut, trying his best not to swallow or taste the blood in his mouth.

There had always been stories about Celestial blood, how it could give a human or dragon the strength and powers of the great breed, or how it could poison the one who swallowed it if the Celestial had been murdered. Jié didn’t know if any stories of the true, and he highly doubted it, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Besides, he didn’t even know if the creature that he had fought was a Celestial.

He tipped his head to the side, staring at the carcass in front of him. It was about the same size and color of a Celestial, but small things were off, like the head shape and the size of the wings. Jié took a hesitant step forward. He reached out with a hand to turn the creature’s head more towards him, looking for the fringe that grew at the back of a Celestial’s head, the whiskers or the spots of blue that were usually on the edge of the fringe and wings.

There was a bit of a fringe, but it didn’t fade into the right colors, nor was it large enough. Jié got a better grip on the creature’s muzzle, practically yanking the head off the ground in his search for anything that would tell him what he was dealing with.

It was like a Celestial, but nothing like one.

He huffed and dropped the muzzle to the ground. Jié took a quick step back, dropping down onto his haunches as he looked around.

The valley looked much the same as it had when he had entered, save for the scraped up dirt and the broken trees, but that had been from the fight. His gaze lingered on the rise towards one side of the valley, Jié leaning in the direction of the hump of grass before he stopped himself. Rushing in was the reason he had ended up fighting the creature in the first place.

He had been running from the army, although that had been a constant for his last few days. The real reason he had scrambled into the valley was to get away from the group of feral dragons that had been dogging at his heels through the mountains. He was a heavier weight than them, and more efficient at making kills. The ferals would let him kill and chase him away before he had managed to grab a few mouthfuls. He had climbed down into the valley because he had noticed that the other dragons had avoided it. He had just been looking for a place where he could rest peacefully so, when he had smelled more dragons he had been wary. It had been the other dragon’s fault for sneaking up on him.

It had been the other dragon’s fault for not being on guard enough to avoid defeat. The dragon had spent too long living undisturbed in its valley, it had forgotten what desperation felt like.

Jié licked his lips, heisting for a moment before swallowing. He was sure that he hadn’t fought a Celestial, so he didn’t run the risk of anything that the old stories had said. Besides, it was hard to ignore the scent of blood when he couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten well.

His stomach rumbled, Jié lurching forward before he stopped himself. He might have been on the run and desperate, but he wasn’t at the point where he would stoop to eating his own kind. He wasn’t a monster, at least not yet. The smell of another dragon held him back, Jié lifting his head and taking a deep breath.

The scent was faint, but that didn’t mean that the other dragon was gone for good. He flicked his tongue out a few times, trying to get more information, but it remained tantalizingly out of his reach.

He snorted and shook his head. If that was the case, then he would just have to be cautious. He couldn’t keep running into trouble, not when he was on his own and not when he had his own things to attend to.

Jié curled his talons into the ground, digging furrows into the dirt. He stopped himself a moment later, getting to his feet. He would worry about the other dragon and just what he would do when he got out of the valley later. In the meantime, he would lay low and gather his strength again. By the time he descended no one would be looking for him. They would be searching for a body, or too busy overhauling the government to worry about one dragon. Then, he pick them off at his leisure. They would pay for taking away his position and his money.

He snorted and tossed his head as he strode over to the hump in the ground. Until that time came, he would use the valley to stay away from the ferals. He would drag the body of the dragon to the lip of it if he had to. Certainly that would frighten them off and that would get them to finally leave him alone. His mouth was watering at the thought of his next meal alone, a far way to fall for one who had once commanded wealth and power.

He licked the remains of the blood from his lips, trying to ignore the way it made his stomach rumble louder. He turned his attention to the hump in the ground instead. Jié lowered his head to look inside, his nostrils flaring when he caught the scent of metal under the grass.

Tentatively, he clawed at the covering, his eyes widening when he came away to reveal metal. He dragged his talons over a large section, scratching out the outline of the metal plate. Once it was cleared, Jié dug his claws in and pulled, hauling the panel free.

The opening wasn’t large enough for him to crawl into, but it was large enough for him to stick his head in. Jié shuffled closer to the metal, letting his eyes adjust to the dark interior.

He couldn’t see much but a few blinking lights and complicated wiring. None of it interested him, it was just more things that humans created. Sometimes they even tried to create things that would be better than dragons, but Jié doubted that they could. It was insulting that the humans even tried.

He sighed and turned his head. The wires and lights went on enough that he considered withdrawing and trying to find another place to sleep, but then something shiny caught his eye. Jié hummed to himself as he shifted closer, eventually withdrawing his head to stick and forelimb in. He groped around in the dark until he felt something beneath his hand. He curled his claws around them, pulling them out awkwardly as he hopped back on three legs.

Jié splayed out his legs to balance himself as he lowered his head to his hand. Carefully, he opened his claws, expecting to see wires that he had ripped from the inside of the buried piece of technology. Instead, he was holding large rings of varied color. Jié tipped his head, watching them roll around against his red scales. They looked large enough to slip over his talons, and he was tempted to. It had been a long while since he had been able to wear such finery, but he had other priorities.

He sat back on his haunches, using his free forehand to claw at the ground until he had dug a hole. He tipped the rings in, watching them flash in the sunlight. He crooned at them before pushing the dirt back over. He would return for them when he had hunted and found a safer place to stash them. They weren’t much beyond pleasing to the eye, nor were they anything like what had been stripped from him, but it was a start.

* * *

Aldrich shivered on the roof, paying little attention to the fireworks that were going off over his head. They didn’t matter when compared to the passage of time, something that Aldrich kept a close eye on.

Tony Stark had promised to meet him on the roof in five minutes, but a good thirty had already passed. He would have never thought himself naïve or easily led, but perhaps too enthusiastic. That enthusiasm must have been the thing that had kept him from seeing the obvious. Tony had had a pretty woman on his arm, and his reputation did proceed him, but Aldrich had just thought that Tony’s enthusiasm for new opportunities had been enough. After all, the man had just finished speaking on that topic, but that hadn’t been enough to convince him to speak to a nobody who had come to the convention to trawl for talent. He had _hoped_ that the great Tony Stark would be drawn to the idea of a think tank of the greatest scientists working in their fields.

He wanted to laugh at the thought now, although the sound caught in his throat. Aldrich leaned over to clutch at the railing, staring down at the city of Bern spread out beneath him. He could see the people bustling around, all of them intent on their parties or stumbling home after the turn of the century. None of them knew that he was there, and none of them cared. They were all lost in their own little worlds, oblivious to anyone else.

He curled his fingers more tightly over the rail. If they didn’t care then there was no way that he could make the other scientists care. All they wanted was room to act on their own and then the space to claim all of the glory. None of them cared about poor, struggling Aldrich Killian and his grand dreams of the future. If they didn’t care, why should he.

Aldrich gritted his teeth and hauled himself over the railing, gritting his teeth when his leg would cooperate. He reached back to drag it over, his crutch knocking against the railing. The sound of metal on metal was drowned out by the next burst of fireworks, the world lit red by their brilliance.

He shivered in the cold, the wind whipping through his hair and tugging at his coat. His fingers were going numb from where they were wrapped around the railing. If he didn’t take matters into his own hands then the cold and wind eventually would. That was a relief in a way, he wouldn’t have a way to back out.

Aldrich took a deep breath, intending to give the city of Bern one more look. One more glance towards the people who didn’t care that he was up on the roof, that didn’t see him. He was truly just another person, an anonymous face in the crowd.

He swayed in place, considering the thought. No one knew who he was, which made it impossible for him to get the people he needed, but it also meant that he could truly work quietly. No one would know him, so no one would bother him. There would be no questions, no accountability for his think tank. As long as he stayed quiet and low, as long as he bided his time, no one would be able to tell him no, because no one would know who he was.

Scientists could be gotten by rumors, a few whispered words here and there. A few promises in the right places and everything would be in order. Advanced Idea Mechanics would live and wouldn’t be curtailed by any kind of meddling. Aldrich sucked in a breath to laugh, coughing when the cold air rushed into his lungs.

He adjusted his hold on the railing, tipping his head back to look at the next burst of fireworks, smiling at the bright green that lit up the sky. He watched until the brightness faded, about to slide himself away from the edge of the building when he saw a large shape glide by overhead.

Another burst of fireworks lit up the sky with bright yellow, Aldrich’s mouth falling open in shock as he realized what he was seeing coming down to land on the roof of the building.

He had known that there were dragon scientists at the conference, but he had known about all of them. Aldrich didn’t recognize the dragon that circled the building once before landing daintily on the roof. To his knowledge, none of the dragons invited to Bern were quite so big, nor did they sport both spines and a crest.

The dragon tipped its head up to watch the next few bursts of fireworks, Aldrich taking the chance to look at it.

It had to be a heavyweight with its size and the way that it had carefully spread its weight over the building.  The lights from Bern and the fireworks showed off its red scales that faded to yellow bars at the end of the wings. The wind tangled in the crest that ran from the yellow spikes around the dragon’s head to the tip of its tail. The dragon shifted in place before opening its mouth, Aldrich shivering at the glimpse of the double row of teeth that he saw.

He quickly looked away when the dragon snapped its mouth shut, feeling its attention swing back to him. Aldrich busied himself with staring at the railing as the dragon looked him over. He felt the rumbling noise of confusion before the dragon spoke, all of its words carefully chosen and strangely accented. “Is there a reason you’re ignoring this beautiful display?”

Aldrich swallowed before pulling himself carefully back over the railing. He wasn’t sure if he felt embarrassed or insulted that the dragon just watched. Aldrich fumbled with his crutches for a moment before settling them back into a useable place.

The dragon was still in contemplation of the night sky. It made a disgusted sound, probably because it couldn’t see much of the stars. The dragon shook its head before it focused back on him, its head tipping slightly to the side so the dragon could look at him through one eye and then the other.

After a beat of silence, the dragon folded its forehands over each other and spoke. “Are you Aldrich Killian, the man who has been talking about a think tank?”

“Yes.” He hoped that his voice sounded steady, but the doubted that the dragon really noticed. It was too busy peering over the side of the building, looking down at the people that were milling about on the streets below.

For a moment, Aldrich thought that he had lost the dragon’s interest, whatever it may be. Then, the dragon’s gaze snapped back to him, its golden eyes pinning him in place.

The dragon stretched out slightly, Aldrich’s gaze dropping to its talons before the dragon resettled itself on the rooftop. “I heard you speaking a few times and found myself intrigued by your idea.”

“Really.”

“Yes.” The dragon lowered its head to get a better look at him. “I admit that I am not a scientist, but I have something else that you will need. Connections.” The last word was almost hissed out. “To people who can get you want you need, to people who _are_ what you need.”

Aldrich found himself nodding along, stopping himself quickly. It would be foolish to agree to anything too quickly, especially when such a promising offer was dangled in front of him. After all, he had dangled the offer in front of Tony Stark and got rejected without a second thought. His weight might not be enough to swing Advanced Idea Mechanics into motion, but there was nothing to say that the dragon had what he promised.

The dragon must have noticed his hesitation because it raised its head again. “You are right to be careful, so I think a better interview is in order. Come, I have talked to a few of my friends and they are eager to speak with you on this.”

The dragon got to its feet, taking the one step towards the edge of the roof. It turned its head to look at him, one foot still raised in the middle of taking a step.

It would be stupid to refuse a dragon, especially one offering him so much. It wouldn’t hurt to look, he would just have to be cautious about getting his hopes up. And, if the dragon wasn’t lying to him, then he wouldn’t even need Tony Stark and his connections. AIM could be what he wanted; quiet, small and powerful, at least until they had something that would shock the world.

Aldrich limped over to the door that would lead him back down to the lobby of the hotel, pausing when he touched the handle. He craned his neck back to see the dragon, eying the creature as it contemplated the glide down to the lobby. He cleared his throat, surprised by the violent jerk that the dragon gave. It reclaimed its dignity easily, but Aldrich saw the wariness

He filed that away for later, preferring to get the answer to the question that had been nagging at him. “You know me, but I didn’t catch your name.”

The dragon sucked in a deep breath, Aldrich watching its sides bell out before the dragon let the breath go in a huff. The dragon gave him what seemed like a mournful look before resettling its wings in what looked like a shrug. “You may call me Khan.”

The dragon jumped off the roof before Aldrich could ask him anything more.

* * *

If there was one thing Maya was sure that she would never get used to, it was the sight of a heavyweight dragon crouched over her desk.

She brought herself up short, her fingers clenching around the bag of take out. Maya kept a careful distance between her and the dragon. It didn’t matter that Aldrich had reassured her that Khan was on their side. She remembered him specifically talking about how Khan wasn’t a dangerous dragon, like she needed to him to help her. She might not have grown up around dragons, but she knew the basics. Rule one was always not to startle them; they were large and quick, and Maya was aware of every inch of difference between them.

Khan’s nostrils twitched, the dragon probably smelling the food that she had brought with her, but the dragon didn’t turn away from the monitors. The dragon turned his head from side to side, studying the equations that were scrolling over the screen. The rings that were always on his talons flashed in the light from the screens as he gently tapped on the keyboard.

She watched as his lips curled back in a snarl, debating what that reaction meant. She must have made enough of a sound to draw his attention, because Khan lifted his head. Maya watched his eyes widen before Khan bared his teeth in the dragon version of a human smile. She was sure that it was supposed to be reassuring, but all she could think about was how there were far too many teeth.

Maya remembered watching a documentary while she had been younger, one about dragons and their biology. There had been an aside about how dragons were starting to change the longer they were integrated within human populations, adapting human tells to try and make themselves seem nonthreatening or more acceptable. This seemed to be one of those cases and, to her surprise, Khan looked sincere.

The dragon nodded and stepped back from her desk, giving her an apologetic bow of his head. “Miss. Hansen, I’m sorry if I intruded on your work.”

“You haven’t.”

Khan gave her a long look, like he was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Maya wasn’t sure what he would do if he knew that she was lying to him by the slightest amount. But it wasn’t the presence of the dragon in her lab that worried her, it confused her.

There were other dragon scientists on the team, but they were always the smaller dragons, the ones that could hold books or use computers in some way or another. The smaller dragons always seemed more comfortable indoors, and Khan was large. His red and yellow body looked far too cramped in the room and he was still trying to shrink himself down so she could walk down the stairs.

His talons scraped over the floor as he moved closer to the doors, tipping his head toward the computers in a clear invitation. “I meant to only peek in on you, but when I found you were out, I couldn’t resist. Your work interests me personally.”

“Really?” Maya got a better hold of her bag, staring to walk down the stairs.

Khan nodded, his gaze going back to the computers. “Bettering oneself has always interested me. It’s what encouraged me to agree to help Aldrich. I may not have the scientific knowledge that you or any of the others have, but I can support this.” Khan held a hand up, curling his claws in to stare at his rings. “You’re giving people power that they cannot have otherwise. That takes a special kind of mind.”

Maya hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, not sure how to take the compliment. In the end, she just smiled and muttered her thanks.

She hopped over Khan’s tail, setting the bag of take out on her desk. Maya heard the dragon grumble behind her, turning her head to watch as he started to pull himself around the room.

The sound stopped quickly, Maya turning to look at Khan where he was crouched by the door outside. The dragon turned his head to nose at one of her plants, drawing his head back with a snort. He shook his head and looked back at her. “If I may ask, why fire?”

Maya was taken aback by the question, her gaze darting to her computer screens. She didn’t know how long Khan had been reading over the equations and chemical bonds or how well he had understood most of it. She didn’t even know how he had pulled fire out of what she had running, but there was no use in denying it.

She looked back at Khan, watching his tail twitch. At a loss of what to say, she just shrugged. “I don’t know. It was the easiest thing with the glitch. I had to redirect the heat somehow.”

“Ah.” Khan nodded, giving her another one of his extra toothy smiles. He turned his head and dragged himself out of the open doors, leaving the lab feeling less cramped.

Maya didn’t look away from the doors, watching as the dragon walked away into the courtyard, his tail still twitching. She assumed that meant that he was pleased, and that she would eventually get praised for keeping one of their major backers happy. There were a few other supporters that were dragons, but Maya knew all of them, she had done her research before agreeing to Aldrich’s terms. She had been able to find things about all of them, but not about Khan. The most she had been able to dig up was that he was a Scarlet Flower, a Chinese military breed, but that didn’t tell her anything. To do that, she would have to talk to the dragon himself, which would be hard. Khan didn’t seem to have a set schedule, but he was interested.

She didn’t know why that brought a smile to her face, but it did. Perhaps it was because Khan had come without demands to know when she and her team would be done, he had just come with easy questions. If that was all that Khan would do, then she would be willing to talk to the dragon all he wanted.

Maya pulled her chair out from under her desk, settling back down into it. Her team would be coming in after their lunch break. She had pulled the short straw for the day, which meant that she had to keep running the desk during her lunch to meet the deadline. It wasn’t a duty she exactly minded, but she was missing the chance to throw ideas around with the rest of her team.

For a moment, she considered the idea of talking to Khan about the project. It wouldn’t matter that he didn’t know the exact ins and outs. It might be better because he knew nothing. But the dragon had his own rounds to make and she didn’t think that his interest extended that far. Everything that she had read about the Scarlet Flowers hadn’t painted them as one of the most intelligent breeds, although Maya doubted that. There had to be some intelligence there, or they wouldn’t have continued to be bred for the military.

But those were questions for a later time, when she didn’t have deadlines to meet and new glitches to fix.

Maya rubbed her hands over her face before she looked back up at the screens. She started going through the calculations, mindlessly pulling the take out bag closer to her as she searched for the source of their latest problem.

* * *

Steve leaned back against Liberty, one hand absently rubbing the edge of his shield while the other held his book. He wasn’t paying attention to either, Steve sure that he’d read the same sentence every time he could bring himself to draw himself back to the history he was reading. Most of his attention was shared between the steady breaths of the dragon behind him and the muffled newscast that was running from the harness room. He couldn’t see the television from where he was sitting in Liberty’s stall, but it was enough to listen. Steve was sure that the three other dragons remaining in the Triskelion and their crews were doing the same.

He leaned forward slightly, looking across and down the aisle as he stretched his back out. He could only see two other muzzles sticking out into the aisle, but Glorior’s captain was sitting outside of the Winchester’s stall. Considering that the courier dragon had come speeding into the Triskelion, Steve wasn’t surprised that the dragon seemed to be asleep. It was more surprising that neither Dejudicavi nor Proclamation of Freedom were asleep, the two middleweights had been out flying constant patrols over the city, searching out any hints that the Mandarin would turn his attention to DC next.

Steve ignored the way that his fingers closed around the edge of his shield, tamping back the urge to tense. He couldn’t be jumping at every threat, especially when none of them were directed at DC, yet. The most that they had gotten were that the lessons were directed to the president. Steve and Liberty had spent enough time standing guard by the White House to know that the Mandarin wasn’t quite ready to turn his attention to the president. Even when he did, Steve was sure that he and Liberty would be sent to secure the White House while the other dragons were sent to take care of the terrorist and his organization. Liberty might have been fit for standing guard, but he still wasn’t cleared to fly.

Steve sighed and leaned back into the crook of Liberty’s elbow, turning his head to stare down the dragon’s right side. It was hard to see the burn scars on Liberty’s wing with the way it was folded against his side, but a bit of it was visible where it ran over the top of Liberty’s back leg. Steve frowned, resisting the urge to stand up and check the rotation of Liberty’s wing. The surgeon said to keep it moving from early days to keep it from stiffening up, but the difference between gentle movement and flying seemed to have been lost on the dragon. There were only so many times that the two of them could walk around DC before Liberty started getting antsy.

He had read somewhere that dragons had an instinctual need to fly. They could spend some time on the ground, but the very idea of being grounded was enough to drive some dragons crazy. Steve had stopped reading halfway through the evidence, just reading about how one dragon had starved himself or how another had fought against her restraints until she bashed her head in had been enough for him. Certainly it had been enough for him to give up his tiny apartment to keep a close eye on Liberty.

It wasn’t like he was giving up much, he was rarely in the apartment in the first place. Besides, he had always slept better when he was close to Liberty. The sounds of the dragon bay were a close enough match to a dragon covert that he was able to sleep easier. At least it kept Liberty as sane as possible when he was repeatedly told that he couldn’t fly or that he couldn’t do something against the Mandarin threats.

Steve tipped his head back when he heard Liberty sigh, watching the dragon shift his head to rest on the front lip of the stall. Liberty scanned the hallway, his head obviously tipping so that he could hear the television. Liberty remained still for a long moment, the one eye that Steve could see the only thing that was moving. The dragon only moved when the broadcast continued with the usual far of news, Liberty snorting and shaking his head. His talons scraped against the ground as he flexed them, Steve feeling the muscles he was sitting on tense and release. “We should be out there.”

“We have nothing to go on.”

“That hasn’t stopped us before.”

Steve smiled, biting back a laugh. “We usually have a little bit more than nothing.”

Liberty grumbled something under his breath, Steve not sure if it was English or just noise. He reached back to pat Liberty’s shoulder anyway. The dragon didn’t seem to notice, his attention drifting back to the newscast.

Steve let him have it, there wasn’t much else for the dragon to do. He almost considering digging out his tablet from his bag and searching for something for the two of them to do. Steve was sure that he wouldn’t get called in, not when Liberty was still grounded. SHIELD had plenty of other teams to send out around the world and no dragons that were willing to elbow in on who they considered Liberty’s captain. Sending him out in one of the planes would just guarantee Liberty following after him. Still, there had to be something to distract him, even if it was the two of them walking around DC until Liberty found something to catch his attention.

He shifted on Liberty’s arm, trying to ignore the jingle of his personal harness. It was habit to slide it on and be ready to fly, even with Liberty just wearing his breast collar. It would be easy enough to hook on the back and hang on as the dragon ran to their assigned position. Even with the serum, Liberty was fractionally faster than him, the dragon’s stride length far longer than he could ever get.

He reached down to grasp the carabiners, keeping their noise to a minimum. It didn’t matter in the semi-quiet of the dragon bay. It was a familiar enough sound that most of the dragons ignored it. Proclamation of Freedom might have perked up slightly, but the female Firecracker sighed and rolled onto her side. Her head disappeared from the lip of her stall. The sound of her shifting filled up the lull in the bay, and then it stopped.

Liberty echoed her sigh, Steve turning his head to watch his dragon’s sides bell out. He smiled ruefully, but there was nothing to promise to Liberty to get him to perk up. There was nothing but their usual schedule.

He was tempted to go back to the book and keep pushing himself through when the sound of an explosion sent him to his feet. Steve rolled off of Liberty’s leg, pulling his shield with him as the dragon moved. It was second nature to pull the shield onto his arm, Steve just barely stopping himself from dropping behind his shield.

He glanced over at Liberty, watching as the dragon flicked his tongue out as he stalked from the stall. Steve let Liberty go first, throwing a glance down at the other occupied stalls. Dejudicavi and Proclamation of Freedom had their heads up and over the small concrete partitions. Glorior was practically out of his stall, his wings spread wide.

Steve clambered over the front part of the stall, heading in the direction that the dragons were staring in. They had pinpointed the source of the sound faster than he had, but he was more maneuverable in the inner hallways of the Triskelion, if that was the source of the explosion. At the moment, it looked more like the dragons were confused about what had happened, just like their captains. The three other captains were on the same alert that he was, their guns already out and aimed towards the door back into the Triskelion proper.

He narrowed his eyes, glancing up at where Liberty hovered close. The Firecracker remained frozen with his head up for the space of a heartbeat before he ducked his head to peer into the harness room. The simple move drew Steve’s attention to the lack of ground crew out in the aisle, like he would have expected if there was an explosion. In fact, none of the alarms were going off, which meant that it wasn’t a Mandarin attack on the Triskelion. That didn’t mean that the Mandarin hadn’t struck another target.

Steve walked towards Liberty’s head, slinging the shield onto his back. He felt the jerk of the magnets as the shield stuck itself into place. Steve rolled his shoulders, settling the harness back into place.

He reached out to trail his hand over the parts of Liberty’s side he could reach as he came around towards Liberty’s head. Steve didn’t want to suddenly walk up by Liberty’s head, not when the dragon was so focused on what was going on in the harness room. It would be too easy to get caught in a swipe of Liberty’s claws when the dragon didn’t mean it.

Steve swung out wide to get to the door, his hand leaving Liberty’s scales until he could reach the hinge of Liberty’s jaw. His fingers curled around the edge of the bone, Steve rubbing at the soft spot just behind the bone. Usually the touch would relax the dragon, but Liberty was just shaking. Steve frowned, trying to figure out if it was because of the startle or because of a sub vocalization.

Liberty keened, Steve starting at the sound that seemed like it had been ripped out of the dragon. He moved forward from the back of Liberty’s jaw, trailing one hand underneath the dragon’s muzzle and tugging it towards his chest. Liberty went without a struggle, but he kept his head tipped so he could see the harness room. And the keening didn’t stop.

Steve scrambled for a better hold on the dragon, taking the chance to look at what was happening in the harness room.

The ground crew had all scattered to the side of the room, making room for Liberty’s head. Parts and pieces of harnesses were dropped on the floors and chairs, Steve spotting a buckle floating in the bucket that the crew had used to clean their sponges.

Another explosion got his attention, Steve jerking his gaze up to the small television, watching as parts of a cliff-side mansion tumbled into the ocean. It was a slow and horrible side, pieces of the cliff and house tumbling out of frame even as the camera panned back. Seeing the full view of the destruction wasn’t much better, but Steve ignored the horrified twisting feeling in his stomach. He could process the fact that it was someone’s home later, he was too busy picking out what he could from the film.

It didn’t look like a Mandarin attack, the man seemed to prefer bombs placed with a clear pattern of targets. Unless the mansion belonged to someone who specialized in collecting Chinese artifacts for their personal pleasure. If that was the case, it had to be someone big and someone who they had been briefed on. Steve had made a point of reading the lists of possible Mandarin targets as they were put out, but he couldn’t remember any individuals that had been added as of yet.

Liberty twitched under his hands, the dragon taking a step forward. The keening resolved itself into a recognizable word. “Tony.”

Steve felt his stomach drop at the name, wanting to curse himself for his own stupidity. There hadn’t been any individuals added to the Mandarin target list, because there hadn’t been time for the new one to come out. Tony Stark had threatened the Mandarin and SHIELD hadn’t bothered to respond. Who could have ever thought that Iron Man would need someone to protect him?

He curled his hands into fists, torn between anger at someone for not bothering to take Tony’s bravado seriously or Tony for putting himself into that situation. Daring a terrorist to come after them was _not_ the right way to deal with a problem and it was hardly a solution. It was irresponsible and a completely Tony answer to a problem. It was misdirection in the hopes that something would go right when he was in the line of fire. Steve didn’t know if that was extreme stupidity or just some twisted kind of selflessness. All he knew was that it drove him up the wall.

Liberty keened again, the sound abruptly cut off as the image switched to a newscaster. The woman barely had the time to start talking before a low growl was rumbling out from the back of Liberty’s throat. Liberty took a step forward, glaring at the screen before he jerked his muzzle out of Steve’s arms.

Steve let the dragon go, not wanting to get in a tug of war that he was reasonably sure that he wouldn’t win. He let his arms drop to his side as he pivoted to follow his dragon.

Liberty backed himself out of the harness room, Steve stepping to the side to avoid the dragon’s lashing tail. Liberty didn’t even seem to notice his presence, the dragon opening and shutting his wings as much as the hallway would allow. Steve recognized the need to fly, clamping down on the reminder that Liberty shouldn’t fly. It wasn’t what the dragon needed to hear. The Mandarin had just attacked Tony Stark.

He ducked under a wing as Liberty flicked it out, Steve jogging along Liberty’s side until he was at a point where he could crane his head up and look up at the dragon. Liberty didn’t seem to notice him, his gaze fixed on something off in the distance. The dragon’s talons clicked on the floor, the rhythm falling quickly into a steady pattern.

The sound came to an abrupt stop, Liberty’s claws scraping across the cement surface of the aisle between the stalls. “The Mandarin is going to pay.”

His gaze flicked down to Steve, some of the tension in his back disappearing. Steve was glad for that. Once the anger was gone Liberty would be easier to reason with. If Liberty was calm, they might be able to hash out a plan that Steve could prod into motion. Asking Director Fury for forgiveness would be easier than asking for permission in this case, although Steve doubted that Fury could stand up to Liberty. Liberty had never cared much for the chain of command, especially if it slowed him down.

Steve patted Liberty’s lower leg. “I’ll see what SHIELD has dug up on this.”

“No. Now.”

Steve barely had the time to parse the words from the rumbling growl that had started from Liberty’s chest before the dragon was swinging his head around. Steve felt teeth scrape against his shoulder before his harness was yanked up on the right side. Then, he was in the air, Steve twisting to see what was happening.

He felt a brief moment of panic when he saw Liberty’s muzzle hanging above him, the dragon’s teeth laid bare in a snarl. Steve was sure that two of those teeth were currently closed around his harness strap, because he couldn’t feel any teeth against his skin. He was being held carefully in Liberty’s mouth as the dragon stormed up the passage to the pad just outside the dragon bay.

Liberty had to duck his head to get through the narrowed part of the passage, raising his head high as soon as he got through the choke point. Steve got a wavering look at the Potomac as it flowed past the Triskelion as Liberty came to a stop.

He twisted to look back into the dragon bay, hearing the shouts that had to be from the ground crew as they rushed to follow Liberty. Steve tightened his hold on his harness, tipping his head back to look at Liberty. He couldn’t reach any part of the dragon, but he could still talk and he was sure that Liberty would listen.

“Hey, we’re going to figure this out. Just put me down and-”

Liberty turned his head until it was parallel with his shoulder. Once there, he held the position, Steve finding himself well within reach of Liberty’s breast collar. It was obvious what Liberty wanted him to do, and Steve was just as sure that Liberty would be content to carry him in his mouth if Steve didn’t take the chance to change his position.

Steve sighed and reached out for the breast collar, closing his fingers around the leather. He braced one foot against Liberty’s shoulder, the pressure enough of a cue for Liberty to let go of the harness. Steve swung towards the dragon, holding himself with one arm before he managed to swing himself over and grab onto the breast collar. Then, it was easy enough to haul himself up to Liberty’s back.

He curled his fingers into the length of chain that connected the leather around Liberty’s neck, reaching with his free hand for his carabiner, but he didn’t attach it. Instead, he looked up and met Liberty’s gaze.

It would be impossible to tell the dragon not to go. Tony was Liberty’s and it was natural for the dragon to go after him. To let Liberty go on his own was unimaginable.

He reached forward to rest his hand against Liberty’s scales, careful to give Liberty a sure nod. “Pace yourself.”

“But-”

“We can’t help Tony if that wing gives out.”

Liberty huffed, but he pressed his right wing close to his body for a moment. Steve turned his head to watch as Liberty stretched it open, watching for any hesitance in the movement.

It wasn’t as smooth as he would have wanted it, but it was better than it had been in the months before. Liberty held the wing from his side, Steve watching it for shaking or folding as long as Liberty allowed it.

Liberty gave his wings a few flaps, before letting them hang open. Steve sighed and clipped his carabiner into place, giving the chain a test tug. Even as he secured himself, he could feel Liberty rocking back onto his haunches. Steve muttered a curse and dropped into a crouch, grabbing for a two handed hold on the breast collar.

“Easy.”

The word was lost to the wind as Liberty launched himself upward, the dragon waiting until the apex of his jump to flap his wings. Steve lost his hold on the breast collar, grunting as he was jerked to a stop by his carabiners. He gritted his teeth and scrambled for a better hold on the chain.

Liberty jerked as his wings took the weight of his body. For a single moment, Steve was sure that the two of them would plummet into the river. Liberty twisted under him, clawing at the air until he settled into a steady rhythm of wingbeats.

Steve remained frozen until he was sure that Liberty was steady. Only then did he reach forward with his other hand to grab onto the chain.

He twisted around to look at the Triskelion, catching a glimpse of Proclamation of Freedom as the Firecracker stood poised on the edge of the pad. She looked like she was ready to fly after them. Orders must have come to the contrary because she stopped herself on the edge. That didn’t stop her from staring after them as they gained height.

Steve sighed and reached up to tap his ear where his communication unit usually sat, wincing when he realized that he hadn’t been wearing one. There hadn’t been a reason when he was just a quick call away. Now Liberty was flying him away with only his shield, everything else had been left in Liberty’s stall. He gritted his teeth and looked ahead, hoping that Liberty would have the sense to swing as wide around the city as he could. There was no way to contact other dragons short of Liberty speaking to them, and Steve didn’t think that his dragon was in the mood. Liberty was already increasing his speed as he leveled out, his head forward as he focused on whatever path he had planned out in his mind.

He lowered his hand from his ear to press against Liberty’s scales, letting it rest there. He would just have to wait until Liberty dropped in the next covert to eat or drink to call back to the Triskelion. If Liberty let him, Steve would clear a path through to California via the other coverts. If not, then he would have to come up with something. Then again, making things up on the fly was something he had become good at. No plan survived its first engagement.

Steve just hoped that Liberty could make the 2,330 miles without his wing giving out.

* * *

Tony gritted his teeth and leaned forward against the weight of the armor. It remained stubbornly stuck in a drift no matter how hard he tugged. He hissed as the rope rubbed against the cold nerves in his hands, the sting almost as bad as the sting of the cold. Tony readjusted his grip and threw his weight forward again anyway.

He got a sluggish response, the suit starting to slide free from the bank of snow. It was a slow process, Tony stumbling in the snow as he tried to compensate for the loose and slippery surface. He fixed his gaze on a large shadow in the distance to keep his mind from the cold and the empty blackness around him.

It wasn’t New York, nor was in space. The pain from the rope kept him grounded enough to realize that, as did the weight of the suit that was dragging behind him. The rare buildings helped to. They were a break in the long tedium, and an indication of his direction. The more buildings, the closer he was to some place where he could tuck the suit away.

That was the plan. Find a place to hide. Call Pepper. Get the suit fixed. Find the Mandarin. It was doable, but only in that order. It all depended on him finding a place with the capabilities to repair the armor.

He eyed the large shadow, assessing it even as he kept trudging through the snow. Judging from the size and shape, it was probably a dragon barn. Two heavyweights or a bunch of smaller dragons would be able to fit in the space as well as any other things that farmers used. Tony was a bit vague on the equipment as a rule. All his experiences were based on half remembered movies and charming picturesque images of the Amish with their small dragons and their horse drawn carriages, and he was pretty sure there were no Amish in Tennessee.

The Amish weren’t the issue, it was the fact that he was close to something. If it was a dragon barn, then there was bound to be at least one dragon in residence. The barn might not be the place to fix the suit, but he could at least make contact with Pepper, if he could coax the dragon out into the cold. Tony couldn’t imagine any dragons wanting to leave the warmth of their barn, save for one and that one was probably still cooped up in New York. But Liberty would come for him, damaged wing or not, Tony was sure of that. Liberty would walk from New York if he had to.

Tony smiled to himself until he took another step and the suit snagged in another drift. He strained against the rope, sighing and taking a step back to give himself some slack.

The barn was looking better by the minute, and it would be so easy. But it would also mean that he would have a handful of dragons knowing that he was alive, which would invite gossip. There had to be five barns of that size for the size of the community and, if the dragons knew, the people would know. And any chance he had at stealth would be gone.

It was better to keep hauling the suit out of snow drifts and placing one foot in front of the other. Thinking about how easy it would be to ask a dragon to help him drag the suit wouldn’t help. The suit was his responsibility alone. Running through just what he would have to do to get the suit back up and running was enough to keep his mind from the cold, although Tony found himself thinking back to flight times. How long would it take to a semi-modern iteration of the Firecracker breed take to fly from New York to Tennessee in the current weather? Then he would have to factor in the gimpy wing and the search patterns that Liberty had been taught to fly.

Either way, the dragon would start in populated areas and circle out. That was more reason to get to the nearest town, at least before Liberty could get in close. Nothing attracted more attention than a big, red, white and blue dragon asking about Tony Stark.

Tony readjusted the rope over his shoulder, fixing his gaze on what little of the horizon he could see as he hauled the suit forward again.

* * *

“Thank you.” Steve ducked around the policemen that were standing by the barrier in front of the remains of Stark’s house. He could feel the stares on the shield on his back, Steve far too used to ignoring them. His only worry was that he was sure that there would be pictures on the internet within hours. If Fury hadn’t gotten the news of Liberty’s desertion, then he would get it soon. Captain America visits home of fallen comrade. Steve shook his head and looked back over the cliff.

Liberty was nowhere to be seen, Steve feeling a flash of panic before he pushed it away. The dragon had landed just long enough for him to slide off his back before taking flight again and diving over the cliff. Steve had lingered behind long enough to check the situation as it stood. Plenty of things had changed in the flight over, like the entire clean-up operation.

Most of the rubble had been moved away.  The news clip he had managed to see had shown heavyweights starting the hard work of clearing all the rubble from the scene.. That had been on their one stop about halfway to California while Liberty drank and chased after a cow. The cow had been devoured in the air as Liberty had pushed on, the dragon determined to reach California before too much was done. Liberty had already grumbled that the house had been taken away before he could search it, sure that the heavyweights had missed something. Steve doubted that they could have, it was the rescue dragons’ job to keep an eye out for survivors.

If Tony had been in the rubble, he would have been found.

They were still running searches in the ocean beneath the house. The policeman he had been talking to said that the coast guard was working with their sea serpents. Steve was sure that Liberty would have found his way down to the water since that was the only place that the search was going on. Liberty would join in for as long as they let him, but Steve wasn’t sure that Liberty wouldn’t be working for the same end. The Coast Guard was looking for a body, not a living person.

He rubbed his hands together, trying to get some warmth back into them. The breakneck flight across the country had made the cold sink into his bones. There had been times that Steve had been sure that he had been back in the ice. His hands were still slightly cramped from hanging onto the breast collar. He flexed his fingers, looking around the ruins of the mansion. Liberty would be out with the search teams until they came in, and Steve was sure that Liberty would stay out longer. It was likely that he would have to call the dragon in himself, and even then Liberty might keep going until he dropped.

Steve sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets, walking over to the edge of the cliff. With dusk starting to fall, Steve was sure that the search teams would be wrapping up soon enough. He wanted to have eyes on Liberty before that.

He dropped to a crouch by the edge of the cliff, bracing himself on one hand as he peered over. He could make out the shape of sea serpent underneath the water as it dove deeper. There was another one near the rocks at the base of the cliff, its small forelegs braced on the rock as it peered up at Liberty. The sea serpent’s ruff flared out at something that Liberty said, the motion turning into a full on bob of its upper body. Then, it was slipping back into the water to join its fellow in the water.

Liberty remained partially perched on the rocks, his head lowered so it was practically under the water. He snorted when the next wave engulfed his muzzle. Liberty slid into the water, the dragon turning a slow circle as he searched the water. He would duck his head under the water every once and a while, but he seemed content to let the sea serpents dive deep. Liberty would swim out to meet them, the distance too far for Steve to hear what they were talking about, even with the way that dragon voices tended to carry.

He shook his head and stood up. Liberty would stay in the water until he was convinced that Tony wasn’t underneath. That could take the rest of the night, or until one of the sea serpents dragged up a body. Steve could only hope that they didn’t find a body, he could only imagine the rage that would follow Tony’s death, and there wasn’t a way that he could redirect it. He didn’t even know where to start looking for the Mandarin.

Steve sighed and looked back towards the cordon. The emergency vehicles were starting to pull away now that the Coast Guard hadn’t come up with everything, although the police were still in place. Steve narrowed his eyes at the reporters, but none of them seemed to be pushing through the police. The ones who would try to break the cordon either hadn’t arrived or had been scared off by the dragons earlier. Steve fully expected them to be back around in the morning, ready to pick over what little news could be gleaned from the attack. He was sure that there would be rumors circulating about the body of a woman in the ruins of the mansion, one last snipe at Stark.

His gaze drifted to the only other person allowed past the cordon. The woman was standing on the edge of the cliff, close enough that Steve worried for her safety. She didn’t seem to notice anything, her attention on the ground. She crouched down to pick up something, Steve speeding up in case she went over.

The woman lifted a ruined mask from the ground, the familiarity of it bringing Steve up short. It was one of Iron Man’s helmets, Steve surprised that there were any left. He had thought that the remains of the armor had been hauled away. If not, then they were being brought up in pieces from the ocean floor by the sea serpents.

Steve leaned a bit closer to the edge of the cliff, watching as the two sea serpents surfaced again. They circled around each other before lining up to present their finds to Liberty. To Steve, the things they held in their mouths looked like tangled masses of metal, nothing like a suit or a body. Liberty looked them over with the same seriousness, nosing at one of the offerings before shaking his head. The two serpents sunk back under the water, Steve watching their wakes travel back to the Coast Guard ships.

“They haven’t found him.” Steve turned to look back at the woman, his gaze darting down to where she cradled the helmet in her arms before it moved back to her face. The woman shrugged, absently tucking her hair behind her ear. “They say there’s no chance though. If he went under...”

Her arms tightened around the helmet, Steve watching her throat work. “Sorry. If…if you were expecting something different, Mr…”

“Rogers.” Steve rolled his shoulder in a shrug. “And I wasn’t. I’m just here with Liberty.”

The woman blinked at him before looking back over the edge. She stared down at Liberty, raising one hand like she was going to wave to him before she remembered the helmet that she was holding. “Ah. Captain Rogers. I had heard…but I didn’t think that you would actually come out here.”

“Liberty insisted.”

That brought a smile to her face. “He would. The others were out here earlier, to help. I had to send them away. Not finding anything was making them worry. I don’t think the police would have been willing to deal with five angry dragons.”

Steve couldn’t imagine that going well, not with the people that would have come to gawp or help. It would have been another disaster. The Mandarin would be just as happy to claim it as his own. Steve couldn’t imagine how the terrorist would spin it, but he was sure that the connection could be made. And then the dragons would come under fire, which was the last thing that they needed with the Mandarin at large.

The sound of claws scrambling on rock turned his attention away from the woman. He glanced over to see Liberty hauling himself up the cliff face, water still dripping from him. Steve frowned when he saw the way that the Firecracker was favoring his right hind leg. The flight out and all the swimming must have aggravated the wound more. Steve stepped out of the way to allow the dragon up onto the floor, resisting the urge to reach out and check for heat in the limb. Liberty didn’t look like he was paying any attention to him, the dragon’s full attention on the woman.

“Pepper.”

The woman took a step forward, practically falling onto Liberty’s muzzle. Liberty caught her without a problem. He leaned back against her, the two of them pressing the helmet between them. It was a private moment, one that Steve was embarrassed to be witnessing.

He turned away, walking away from the two of them. Steve headed back towards the cordon, intending to ask to borrow a cell phone. He had to call into the nearest covert to arrange a place for the two of them. Liberty wouldn’t be leaving until he was sure about Tony’s fate, dead or otherwise, and even then it might take everything he had to convince Liberty to return to DC. Then again, a few days grounded would probably help, especially with the way that Liberty wasn’t putting any weight on his right hind leg and the way that his wing wasn’t folded tightly against his side.

Steve didn’t get much closer to the cordon. Liberty flipped his tail around, Steve staring down at it. He could easily step over it, but the request was clear. Liberty wanted him close.

He still turned to look at Liberty, watching as the dragon’s head moved slightly towards him. Steve stared into Liberty’s eye before giving him a slow nod. He would stay, as Liberty asked him, but he would give his dragon and Pepper what privacy he could.

The nod seemed to be what Liberty was waiting for. The dragon sighed and closed his eyes, his attention obviously back on Pepper again.

The two stood like that for a while before Pepper pulled away. She wiped at her eyes before giving Liberty a nod. “Thank you. You didn’t have to come out here.”

“Tony’s one of mine.”

Pepper gave him a sad smile, patting the side of Liberty’s face. Her fingers lingered there for a moment before she turned and walked away, going back to her contemplation of the ocean below.

Steve walked back up Liberty’s side, taking the moment to press his hand against Liberty’s hind leg. As he suspected, there was a little bit of heat, but not as much as he had been worried about. As if Liberty could hear his thoughts, the dragon set down his foot all the way, shooting Steve a glare.

“They’re not searching for him anymore. They say that he couldn’t have survived so long under the water, even with one of his suits.” Liberty snorted and swung his head back around to stare out at the ocean. “They’ve given up too easily.”

“Liberty-”

“They’ve given up too easily.” The words were snarled out, Steve feeling Liberty wince in the next moment. The dragon shifted uneasily before looking back at Steve again. “Steve, its Tony. I can’t give up on him.”

“I know.” Steve patted his leg again before moving up to Liberty’s head. He rubbed the thin skin under Liberty’s eye. “Call it a day. You can come back.”

“And what will you do?”

“I’ll see if I can track down the Mandarin.”

Liberty dropped his mouth open slightly in a draconic smile. Steve ignored the sight of fire flickering at the back of Liberty’s throat. There was always an implied threat in a dragon’s smile, anything with bared teeth had to be for them.

He continued to rub his hand over Liberty’s face, letting the dragon work through the short burst of anger. Liberty’s claws scraped over the remains of the floor, leaving light marks. Steve didn’t bother to stop him, not when he preferred the almost calm anger to anything else. It was better than mourning, at least for the moment. If they got bogged down in mourning, then they wouldn’t be able to do anything. Tony might be dead, but they could avenge him.

Steve reached back with his free hand to run his fingers over the edge of his shield. He didn’t know if he could get in contact with Thor. How to contact a god had never been covered in any aspect of his training, but he knew that he could at least get to Bruce. The man was probably still tucked safely up in Stark Tower, which meant that it was only a matter of jumping through some hoops to get to wherever Clint and Natasha had holed up. Fury couldn’t deny him that information, not when it dealt with his team.

A choked sound caught his attention, Steve stepping away from Liberty to look at Pepper. He saw the dragon move out of the corner of his eye, but Liberty didn’t do anything more than take a step forward, stretching out his neck so his muzzle was closer to Pepper.

She was wearing the helmet she had been clutching, the metal muffling any sounds she made. When she laughed again, it was a strangled sound, like she was trying not to cry. Steve watched her fingers curl against the sides of the helmet, the digits shaking as they gripped at the metal.

He couldn’t imagine what she was listening to or looking at. There were a variety of messages that Tony could have left for her; programs set to run in case of his death. Considering New York, Steve was sure that Tony had been spooked into doing something. Tony coming back out of the black hole had never been a surety, and none of them had had the time to make final arrangements. Steve hadn’t had anyone left, save for Peggy, but he doubted that she wanted to hear that he was throwing himself blindly into danger again. It couldn’t have been good for her heart.

Pepper curled in on herself, remaining halfway bent over before she tugged the helmet off. She gasped for air for a moment, the broken sound of her breathing drawing Liberty closer to her. The dragon dropped closer to the ground, his muzzle pressing against her side. The pressure was enough to get Pepper to turn, Steve seeing the shine of tears on her cheeks.

He clenched his fingers around the edge of his shield, ready for the news. He was ready for the answer, he had been ready since the first hour of their flight out. There was every chance that Tony could have survived the attack, but Steve had prepared himself for the worst. Having a firm answer was always better than just hanging in limbo. He could only hope that Liberty was ready for the news.

Steve took a half step towards where Liberty crouched close to the ground. He wasn’t sure what he would do in the face of a grieving dragon aside from make promises of revenge, but he knew he should be there. Tony had been the one human around Liberty for the longest, and Steve didn’t expect Liberty to let Tony go quietly.

He pressed his hand against Liberty’s neck, slowly edging between the dragon and Pepper. It was the only way that he could come around to Liberty’s head. Steve took the chance to run his hand over the short spines that rose along Liberty’s eye ridge, not sure that Liberty could feel anything but the pressure of his hand there.

If Pepper noticed the way that they had stepped closer, she didn’t show any sign of it. She was still clutching at the helmet and keeping it pressed between her and Liberty’s muzzle. She had stopped laughing, although the smile hadn’t left her face.

She freed one hand from the helmet to rub at Liberty’s scales. Liberty crooned and leaned into the touch, Steve finding himself mirroring the move. He didn’t have comfort to offer, but he doubted that this was the reaction of a woman who had just received bad news. If anything, she looked relieved from whatever she had found out via the helmet.

Pepper sniffed, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes. “He’s alive.”

Liberty perked up at that, but he didn’t move from where he was partially supporting Pepper. He just changed the sound of his croon, it coming out as more of a purr. Pepper laughed at that, leaning forward to press her forehead against Liberty. “Tony’s alive.”

The sound of Tony’s name made some of the anger and tension that Steve had carried with him unravel, Steve sighing and leaning heavily against his dragon. He heard Liberty grunt, but he didn’t pay the sound any mind. He closed his eyes, trying to banish the images of Iron Man sinking slowly into the water. It would have been a horrible way to go, he could say that from experience. He flexed his fingers around Liberty’s spines, carefully gathering himself back together.

That Tony was still alive was good news, but it didn’t mean that they were finished. Steve doubted that Tony would just allow the Mandarin attack to go without a comment. He certainly wouldn’t. Separated or not, Tony was still an Avenger and Steve didn’t let anyone mess with his team. With Tony already on the case, they might have a better time of finding where the Mandarin was hiding or where he would attack next.

He opened his eyes and pushed away from Liberty. Pepper was still draped over Liberty’s face, but she turned her head when Steve cleared his throat. He tried to ignore the way she clutched the helmet closer to her with the move. “Did he say where he was?”

Pepper shook her head. She rested on Liberty for a moment longer before pushing herself away. She swayed on her feet for a moment, obviously pulling herself back together. Pepper took a deep breath and pushed a stray strand of hair back over her ear. “He didn’t. He just said that this was something that he had to take care of, and that it was better if people thought that he was dead.”

Steve gave her a rueful smile. That sounded like Stark, completely willing to work on his own no matter the cost. Worse still, anything that Tony had found had been destroyed in the attack. He and Liberty would have to work from scratch with their own resources, but that was no struggle. It just meant that they would be constantly a few steps behind Tony.

Pepper gave him a long look before she turned to look at the police cordon, shifting the helmet into the crook of her arm. She looked for someone in the crowd before making a vague gesture towards a knot of police officers that were clustered around a car. “I don’t know what Tony was going after, by Maya might.”

Liberty rumbled, the sound obviously a question. Steve was almost surprised by how quickly Pepper understood it. She just shrugged. “Maya Hansen, an old friend of Tony’s.” Her mouth twitched at the word friend, Steve filing the look away. There was a history there to look into. “She showed up just before the attack.”

“Was she involved?”

“I don’t think so.” Pepper narrowed her eyes. “But she knows more than what she told us. She wouldn’t have come to see Tony otherwise.”

Liberty turned his head in the direction of the knot of people, the edges of his lips twitching up in a snarl. “We’ll have to talk to her.”

Steve shook his head and gave the dragon a stern look. “Not like this.”

Liberty had the sense to look embarrassed as he covered his teeth again. He raised his head a fraction, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth as the scented the air. If he smelled anything, the dragon didn’t let it on. Liberty snorted and tipped his head to the side, watching Steve with one eye. “What’s the plan then?”

“We get to a covert, start making calls. Someone has to know something. Then, we find Tony.”

Liberty snorted, Steve sure that the dragon was annoyed with the delay. But, the fact that Liberty didn’t say anything meant that the dragon couldn’t think of anything else. They couldn’t just fly around the country in the hopes of stumbling across Tony or the Mandarin, they didn’t have that kind of time. Liberty resettled his wings against his sides, both of them heaving up in an approximation of a shrug. “Fine.”

Steve gave the dragon a thankful nod. He was starting to feel the exhaustion of the day now that they had a solid plan, although not everything was squared away. The two of them couldn’t go off until they were sure that Pepper was safe, Steve was sure that Liberty wouldn’t allow it.

Liberty stepped around Steve, his tail curling around Steve’s feet for a moment before Liberty lifted it back to his regular carriage, with the last forth of his tail dragging along the ground. The dragon walked over to Pepper, falling into step with her. “What about you?”

“I have a hotel.”

“And a ride?”

“No.” She patted his head. “And what about you?”

“There’s bound to be a covert around here.”

“No. Go to Stark Industries, there’s plenty of room there. I’ll give you and Steve access to archives if you need them. Icarus should be there to help the two of you.”

Liberty ducked his head and let Pepper walk past him. The dragon turned to look at Steve, tipping his head to the side. “Stark Industries would be nicer, better access to information.”

“I’ll take it.” It would be better than the covert, at least they could keep working on the problem instead of waiting for news. Besides, he was getting jumpy from sitting around for so long. He and Liberty had waited on the sidelines while the Mandarin had wreaked havoc, the least they could do was try to help the one person who was sure to find the Mandarin.

He gave Liberty a quick look over. The hotel and Stark Industries couldn’t be far, the short hop wouldn’t be too hard on Liberty’s wing. It was the flight to wherever Tony was or where the Mandarin was that made Steve worry. He doubted that he would be able to talk Liberty out of it, he would just have to keep an eye on the dragon and step in before Liberty ran himself into the ground.

Steve stepped around Liberty, letting the dragon go back to looking over the wreck of the mansion. If Liberty was going to give Pepper a ride to her hotel, they were going to need an extra harness. The police always carried a few spares if Pepper didn’t already have her own. Judging by her familiarity with dragons, Steve guessed that she had one tucked away somewhere, if it wasn’t already lost in the ocean.

While he was at it, he might as well check that they had a second spare harness for Maya. The woman had obviously had a reason for finding Tony, and the timing was too good to ignore. They could start their search with Maya Hansen and then spiral out from there. Hopefully, all of that would lead them to Tony and the Mandarin.

* * *

Liberty stretched his wings out as far as the limited space in the parking lot would allow him. He hadn’t gone around to the back where there was a clear patch of grass for dragons, he hadn’t wanted to take his gaze from the room that Pepper had disappeared into with Steve.

He resettled his wings, ignoring the ache of the muscles on his right side. He didn’t regret making the flight out to California, what he regretted was having allowed himself to stay grounded for so long. Despite all of the dire warnings that the surgeons had given him, the wing had held up for the trip. It felt a little shaky now, and it didn’t fold quite right, but it had held when it had counted. Liberty was sure that it would hold until they got to Stark Industries, it was after that he didn’t quite know about.

He turned his head to watch his right wing, working it carefully back and forth before giving up. It could hang so it was brushing the floor until Steve finished questioning Maya Hansen. The stretch would do the muscles good, maybe.

Liberty snorted and settled down in the space between the cars. He curled his tail forward, giving the two vans a baleful look. They didn’t block his line of sight, the one good thing about their placement other than they guarded his flanks. Liberty bared his teeth and curled his claws against the asphalt.

The Mandarin had attacked Tony. It didn’t matter that the terrorist had been dared to do it, Tony was _his_ , and he should have been there to protect him. He should have flown out to Malibu the moment he had heard about the attack on the Chinese Theater, damn his orders and damn the consequences. It was like Afghanistan again, but he knew that Tony was alive this time.

Pepper had played him and Steve the message that Tony had left while Maya had been away. Liberty had had to practically hold the helmet up to his ear to hear Tony’s voice, and even that had been too quiet. It had been something, far better than listening to the sea serpents chatter to themselves. Figuring out what they had been seeing and what they had found had been difficult, they were always going on about ocean currents and fish. Like their ration of fish was more important than Tony.

He huffed and settled his muzzle on his legs. Liberty glanced up at the window to Pepper’s room. He could see a few shapes moving through the light, including Steve’s familiar silhouette. He sighed and turned his gaze away.

He was impatient, but more because of his need to chase after Tony before he got himself into more trouble than because of how things were going. He was old enough to know better than to just go chasing blindly after what he wanted. That impatience had been wasted during World War II, and probably for the better. It was still hard to keep it in check, especially when he was busy thinking over all the places that the Mandarin could strike at next. There was a whole list that SHIELD kept updated, but it had never been passed to Liberty. He was just a glorified guard dog after all, standing on the front lawn of the White House while they waited for the Mandarin to swoop in and grab President Ellis. Liberty had wished that he had insisted instead of moping around.

Tony still might have been safe if he hadn’t been wallowing in his own misery. It was enough to make Liberty wish that he was still in the New York covert. Viatrix would have never let him get away with such behavior, she had no patience for it. And Njord, if the Athanaraic had been alive, would have taunted him into something close to a fight before backing down. No one at the Triskelion dared to question him, he was too much of a legend to them.

Distantly, he wondered if Steve had the same problem. Maybe that was why his captain had seemed the most alive when they had been with the Avengers. That or doing nothing didn’t sit well with Steve.

Liberty mulled the question over before shrugging it off. It didn’t matter, because they were acting now, and he was sure that they were closer to finding the Mandarin than anyone else was. He could feel it in his gut.

He lifted his head slightly as he saw someone walk out into the parking lot. It didn’t take long for him to recognize the way Steve moved. Liberty closed his wing close to his side, sighing when the muscles cramped and twitched under his scales. They would ease later when they were worked free, but there were more important things for him to focus on.

He stretched his neck out as Steve came over to him, giving him a soft croon. Steve smiled in response, his hand slipping down to the hinge of Liberty’s jaw. “Shield.”

Liberty obligingly shifted to one side. He winced when he felt the van to his left rock, careful not to push the van further as he pushed his right hind leg away from him. Liberty lifted his foot away when the shield was out from under his body, Steve accepting it with a nod of thanks. His captain slipped his arm through the shield, absently stroking the edge as he looked around. “It’s clear.”

“Good.” Pepper wasn’t his, but she was obviously important to Tony. By default, she had to be protected like any of the members of his crew. Besides, he had seen her working with the dragons at Stark Industries and he had heard no complaints from them about her. From the way that she had shucked her high heels and clambered aboard his back with no hesitation just raised her esteem in his eyes. She was capable and exactly the pair of eyes that he would have had watching Tony when he couldn’t be around.

He gave the window a quick glance. No one was moving across it anymore, Liberty assuming that the two women were getting ready for bed. The two of the deserved it, Liberty had seen how shaken they had looked. Both Pepper and Maya had smelled of blood. Neither of them had seemed too badly injured, but they had taken a beating running out of the falling mansion.

Liberty flicked his tail, feeling the end of it whack against the wheels of the other van. He shot the van a glare as he pulled his tail close. The van didn’t occupy his attention for too long, not with more important things on his mind. “What did they have to say?”

“Maya suspects her boss is working for the Mandarin.” Liberty jerked his head up, about to speak when Steve raised a hand. He huffed but kept silent, watching as Steve settled down on one of his outstretched forelimbs. “She wasn’t able to give us any definite proof, apparently she had been working on gathering proof until Stark ruined her plans. They had a history, so she prioritized warning him over producing evidence. That and she wanted his help in exchange. She’s been working on some kind of biological cure.”

“She wouldn’t go into details?”

“Just that it wasn’t working and Stark was the only one who could make it work.”

Liberty flicked his tongue out, scenting the air like it could give him and answer. “Suspicious.”

“And shaken, the both of them. I pushed as much as I could, but she clammed up quickly.”

“Suspicious.”

“Maybe, but she’s the best we’ve got. So we’re going to be keeping an eye on her.” Steve swung the shield onto his back, turning the motion into a stretch. “She’s given us a good starting point. The company she worked for is public, Advanced Idea Mechanics. According to the two of them, it’s privately funded, but it’s put out a few things. Should make it easy enough to track.”

“We find her boss, we find the Mandarin.”

“That’s the sum of it, unless either of them have any revelations for us in the morning.” Steve reached down to unhook his carabiners from where he had stored them looped around the main belt. “Until then, we start digging ourselves. How far to Stark Industries?”

Liberty lifted his neck, turning his head in the direction of the company headquarters. He tipped his head, trying to remember the distance from the last time that he had flown out to test something that Tony had developed. “Maybe ten minutes.”

“Can you manage it?”

He gave an affronted huff, looking down at his captain. Steve didn’t meet his gaze, he was too bust staring at the scars on Liberty’s right side. Liberty tucked his wing more securely against his side, trying to hide the scars from Steve’s gaze. When Steve didn’t let up, Liberty growled deep in his throat. “I can manage it.”

Steve didn’t look impressed by the growl, something that Liberty anticipated. Steve didn’t have the good sense to back down when he should, but his stubbornness seemed to get him exactly what he needed.

Liberty shifted to present Steve with his leg. “Come on.”

He thought he heard Steve laugh, but he turned his head away to at least pretend that he couldn’t. Liberty scanned the parking lot, his gaze lingering on the start of the grass where the other dragons were. He saw a dragon moving in the darkness but thought nothing of it, at least not until the dragon started to making his way through the parking lot.

Liberty tipped his head to the side, watching the dragon step through the dim light of the street lamps, its gaze focused on the windows of the rooms. The focus in the dragon’s gaze seemed wrong to him, Liberty mantling his wings as the dragon slowed down. The dragon scanned over the windows, stopping practically in front of Liberty.

The lights from the parking lot gave him a good view of the dragon, its red scales standing out brilliantly in the dark. A distinctive yellow crest ran from the back of the dragon’s head to the tip of its tail, the scales of its wings and the tips of its claws a bright gold. It was a large dragon, certainly not as large as the Royal Coppers, but nearly twice the size of him, and far more bulky.

Liberty shifted in place, feeling heat buildup at the back of his throat when he realized what the dragon was staring at. Pepper and Maya might not have been visible through their window, but there was no question of which room the dragon was looking at, not after Liberty had spent half an hour looking at the same window.

He ducked his head, taking a slow step forward. Liberty spared a glance at Steve, nodding as his captain moved around to cover his other side. There was a possibility that the dragon was one of Stark Industries come to check on Pepper, but Liberty doubted that. It wasn’t behaving like it was just visiting the women. It looked like it was hunting.

Liberty let his mouth fall open, feeling the heat of fire on his tongue. He titled his head up slightly to keep the sparks from falling. He didn’t want to alert the dragon before he attacked, not with the dragon being so much larger than himself. The best he could hope for was a chance to jump onto the dragon’s back and have Steve go for the dragon’s legs. Liberty shot a glance over at his captain, slowing down his prowl as he watched Steve nod. It would be just like old times, just like New York.

He sucked in a quick breath, feeling the flame at the back of his throat flare a little hotter. He wouldn’t be able to breathe and impressive amount, but it would be enough to hurt.

Liberty rocked back on his haunches, ready to launch himself at the dragon when it jerked its head up. Liberty paused, following the dragon’s gaze.

Figures were moving in front of the window again, Liberty able to pick out one normal shape and one distorted one. He tipped his head to the side as he watched the curtains move, the fabric shoved aside a moment later. The window was thrown open, Liberty watching as Maya clambered out. She backed into a corner of the balcony, staring at the window as a man stepped out with Pepper over his shoulder.

The man adjusted his grip on Pepper, smiling at the dragon that was waiting for them before stepping onto the dragon’s head. The dragon held still as both the man and Maya slid carefully down its neck, heading for the faint glint of metal that Liberty assumed was a harness.

That was enough for him. Liberty bared his teeth and launched himself forward at the same time that the dragon swung his head around. Liberty got the impression of an amused look and a myriad of horns towards the back of the dragon’s head before it opened its mouth wide. He was too close to dodge, Liberty rolling his shoulders forward in a last ditch attempt to slide under the dragon’s jaws. He felt teeth scrape against the top of his neck before they closed down hard.

Liberty roared in pain, writhing in a panicked attempt to loosen the dragon’s hold. All he got for his efforts was an increase in pressure on him, two sets of teeth digging into his scales. Liberty hissed, not caring that he scattered sparks and flame onto the parking lot, he was too busy trying to twist himself around so he could dig his claws into the dragon.

His claws scraped against the asphalt, Liberty unable to turn his head to see how close he was to the dragon. All he could see was the dragon’s neck and the occasional flash of the dragon’s eye.

He hissed and tried a new tactic, ducking his head and trying to claw at the dragon’s face. He couldn’t bring his neck down far enough, his claws scraping across his own scales and falling short of the dragon’s muzzle.

Liberty felt more than he heard the dragon’s laugh, gasping when he was abruptly shaken. He went limp, breathing heavily as he waited for his neck to snap.

As quickly as it started, the shaking stopped, the dragon lifting him slightly from the ground before tossing him away. Liberty didn’t go far, but shock kept him on the ground longer than he should have been. He rolled up onto his feet, coughing up a few sparks.

The dragon laughed as he took a slow step forward. It didn’t seem to feel the shield that was bouncing off its sides, nor even see Steve. Liberty was glad of that, he was already shrinking back in the face of the larger dragon, trying get his footing long enough to at least try to bluster. He spread his wings as wide as he could, hissing when the dragon stared him directly in the eyes.

“So you can breathe fire, little one. Interesting. But you can’t breathe much, can you? A shame. A flaw in your breeding.” The dragon opened its mouth, Liberty seeing fire in the back of the dragon’s throat. At the same time, something flashed bright on the dragon’s left first claw. Liberty turned his head in time to see a yellow ring there before he had to scramble out of the way as the dragon unleashed a stream of flame.

He skittered to the dragon’s other side as it pivoted, slowing long enough to scoop Steve up in one hand. Liberty crow hopped back, watching as the dragon spun to face him. His gaze darted to where Maya was clipped into the harness. She had Pepper cradled against her, her gaze on the man that was perched in the captain’s position on the dragon’s shoulders. From his quick glance, the man seemed to be enjoying the fight.

Liberty hissed at them, backing away as the dragon looked down at him. The dragon’s mouth dropped open in a smile as it drew itself up to its full height. It stared down at Liberty before shaking its head and launching into the air. Liberty instinctually dropped to his stomach, laying there as the dragon’s shadow passed over him.

He shook on the ground until he was sure that the dragon was gone, Liberty lifting his head slowly to watch the large shadow of the dragon as it banked and flew back east. He bared his teeth at the shadow, carefully getting to his feet. “Asshole.”

He thought he heard Steve mutter an agreement, but his captain was far too busy scrambling up Liberty’s neck. Liberty carefully held his neck still, not wanting to send Steve flying off. It was hard to keep still when Steve started prodding at the wound.

After a moment of careful study, he heard Steve sigh. “It’s not as bad as it could be.”

“Another scar.”

“Maybe. Stark Industries will have supplies. I can sew you up myself if I have to. It won’t be pretty though.”

“It never is.” Liberty rose to his feet, keeping an eye on the quickly retreating shadow.

The dragon was moving far quicker than it should have been. Liberty was almost sure that he saw something flash with a bright light, like before the dragon breathed fire. He growled and rocked back onto his haunches, stopping just before he launched himself into the air. Liberty stared at the shadow before turning to look at Steve. “If I don’t go, we’re going to lose them.”

He expected Steve to baulk, especially when he could feel the blood dripping down his neck. The wound probably looked horrible, but it wasn’t life threatening. Until it was, Liberty wanted to keep flying. Steve had said that Maya was the key to finding Tony and Liberty was willing to bet that the same boss she had told them about was the one who had come from her and Pepper. The question remained if the human or the dragon was in charge, but that could be answered later. It wasn’t a priority.

He turned his head around to look at his captain. “Steve.”

“I heard.” Steve reached back to attach the shield to his harness, dropping into a crouch the next moment to clip his carabiner in place. “Don’t exhaust yourself. We can’t chase them if you can’t fly.”

“We can’t chase them without me flying.”

If Steve had an answer to that, it was lost to the wind as Liberty threw himself into the air. His right wing wavered, Liberty snarling as he stretched it out. The muscles trembled but held, Liberty snorting and turning in the direction of the shadow. At the speed it was going he would have no problem remaining behind it, but he would still have to push himself so he didn’t lose sight of the dragon.

The air would be full of the scents of other dragons and what wafted up from the ground, he would have to rely on his eyes, which had never been the best at night. It was enough to make him wish that Seraphinus and Crescentia were with him. The two Fleur-de-Nuits would have been perfect for chasing down the other dragon, and they could have thrown in their weight with him. Two heavyweights and a middleweight would be more than enough to overpower the dragon.

Liberty snorted and focused on setting a fast pace. He could wish for back up all he wanted, but it would be impossible for any to reach them before the heavyweight got away. It would be just him and Steve against whatever the Mandarin threw at them. The two of them had gone up against worse, but that didn’t mean that Liberty didn’t worry.


	2. A Bomb That's Ready to Blow

Lung Shao Jié eyed some of the sets that had been built for the Mandarin, snorting as he traced a claw over some of the Chinese letters that had been layered into the graffiti in the background. It was so far back that no one would have noticed, but there was little else to hold his attention; not when Aldrich was busy with his trophy and Maya was back at work on Extremis. The woman had been more than eager to get back to her lab after they had grabbed Pepper, something about working on the glitch.

He was glad to see her energized about the project. She had spent the past few weeks making no progress, which was a shame. Maya had a wonderful mind and the ideas that it produced were too good to be left to rot because of indecision. Out of all of the projects that AIM was working on Extremis was an especial favorite of his. The other projects were just as interesting, but the adaptive robot and the man-made version of the Cosmic Cube were nowhere near completed; they were both still calculations and failed prototypes. Jié couldn’t even contemplate the living computer that George Tarleton kept proposing, but he supposed that it was a human thing. The last he had heard of the project was that it was needed to even begin the Cosmic Cube project. As far as he was concerned, it was a waste of time and it looked like Aldrich was finally starting to agree with him. All Aldrich had cared about lately was Extremis.

Of course, that could be because Aldrich was focused on showing up Tony Stark.

Jié snorted, putting a little too much pressure on the set. His claw went through the character, Jié hissing and stepping away. It didn’t matter in the end, the character had been completely wrong anyway, just more atmospheric nonsense that Aldrich liked to put into the Mandarin. Apparently, it made the character more believable, something that made Jié want to laugh. Then again, it wasn’t what _he_ saw, it was what the American people saw. As long as they saw a threat, there would be desperation and money flowing into AIM. With Stark Industries no longer making weapons and Hammer Technologies struggling to stay afloat, AIM was the only other option. With Maya working as hard as she was, Extremis would be up and running for the military soon enough.

He chuckled to himself, turning away from the set and slipping out into the courtyard. He had no need to meet the man they were paying to play the terrorist, nor did he want to watch Aldrich gloat over their victory. All they had done was steal a woman, and all of it was to rub it in the face of Tony Stark, who didn’t even know that she was missing. Jié didn’t know how Aldrich could count that as a victory, but he had stopped trying to follow the leaps and turns of Aldrich’s mind. The man had served his purpose initially and now it was better to focus on the humans would get him what he wanted.

As soon as the military started supporting the AIM projects, Jié could move on to what he truly wanted to do. The Mandarin was a threat, a Chinese threat. In the years that he had spent lingering in the United States, he had learned that there was nothing that they feared more than communism. At the moment, that was enough for him. All he needed to do was allow the government to ramp themselves up and then let them go. His revenge would be taken care of for him, and he would get to laugh as all the dragons who prided themselves on the way that they had helped the new government in scramble to keep it afloat.

Jié let his mouth drop open in a draconic smile as he stepped all the way out into the courtyard. He took the chance to stretch, spreading his wings out as far as they would go before stretching his forelegs in front of him. Jié took the moment to admire the rings on his fingers, watching them glitter in the sunlight.

They had been bright and gaudier when he had first found them, but he couldn’t remember when they had subtly altered themselves. He was glad of it, most people didn’t think to question a dragon with a certain kind of jewelry, but they ascribed some kind of taste to dragons. He wiggled the fingers of his left hand, resisting the urge to buff the rings with his nose. The last time he had done that, he had activated some of their powers accidentally. He couldn’t risk that so close to Maya’s lab.

He contented himself with another look before he eased himself back up. He had expected to be more exhausted from his flight from California, but all he felt was the familiar drag from using the rings. It felt like he had only flown half the distance, something that made him want to preen. His control of the rings was getting better, but it wasn’t the precision that he wanted. It was enough to make him wish that the middleweight from California had tried to fight longer instead of retreating. Then again, there would be other opportunities.

Jié gave himself a rough shake before padding over towards the edge of the compound. He would take the time to hunt while Aldrich was distracted. The man had gotten more demanding of his time lately and Jié didn’t quite want to stay away for too long. Aldrich was still interesting enough that it wasn’t an insult, but that was just barely.

He paused to look back at the sky, scanning it despite himself. There was no way the middleweight could have caught up with his so easily. Even if the middleweight insisted on pursuit it would take a few hours for him to catch up, if it was stupid to try again.

Jié shook his head and made his way out into the trees. If the middleweight was stupid enough to chase him, then maybe he would get his practice after all.

* * *

Steve steadied himself on Liberty’s spines, carefully edging around the next one as he worked his way up to the wound on Liberty’s neck. He felt Liberty’s muscles twitch under him, but the dragon laid still. It was only because Liberty had his head slightly tilted Steve’s way that Steve could tell that Liberty was still awake. He met Liberty’s gaze for a moment before stepping around the next spine. The dragon’s muscles twitched again, Steve watching as Liberty’s lips twitched up in a snarl. It wasn’t a threat towards him, but Steve stepped carefully.

From his perch, it was easier to see the wound, especially since Liberty wasn’t moving. He could pick out the two rows of teeth from the dragon. He dropped into a crouch, reaching out to rest his hand besides the outermost ring.

Some of the tooth marks were deeper than others, Steve sighing and sitting down on Liberty’s neck. He had to lean awkwardly around another spine to see the closest marks, but it meant that he had something to rest his weight on instead of the tender scales around the wounds.

The wounds were easier to see now that he wasn’t standing under the dim glow of a streetlight, but his first assessment of them didn’t look too off. There were ones that would need to be sewn up, but there were fewer than he had first thought. He touched the edges of one, sighing and leaning back against the spine.

Liberty hadn’t stopped, he had been too afraid to lose the dragon that they had been following. Steve couldn’t fault him for that, not with the way that the dragon had been tracking. It had been impossible for Liberty to keep up the breakneck pace, but there had always been enough for them to follow, even if they had come in for a landing late. At least they had found the place where the dragon had landed. The only bad thing was that it was far away from anything he needed. A villa in the middle of nowhere wasn’t the best place to find a first aid kit, not unless he wanted to walk up to the villa and knock.

He sighed and looped his arm around the spine. “Dr. Koeman is going to be disappointed.”

Liberty huffed, not looking repentant in the least. “I’ve been through worse. You didn’t stitch me up a couple of times while we were chasing after Hydra and I pulled through.”

“I had bandages then and we could boil water at least.”

“There’s a whole ocean just a short flight away. I’ll wash them off in a bit.”

Steve sighed and leaned back against the spine, shaking his head. The rough field first aid was the best that they could do, but it was rougher than what they had done during the war. It was enough to make him wish that he had thought ahead and grabbed a first aid kit from the covert. He had been consistently unprepared, and it was starting to annoy him.

They were in Florida, according to Liberty, sitting outside a villa out in the middle of the forest. There was a walk to what Steve assumed was a private beach, but he couldn’t be sure. As it was, Liberty was twined awkwardly through the largest clearing that they could find on a quick fly over. With a heavyweight dragon around and the number of guards that Steve had counted on their quick fly over, there was no guarantee they would remain hidden for long. And all he had was his shield.

Still, there had been worse situations he had found himself in.

He eyed the teeth marks one last time before sliding down from Liberty’s neck. The dragon turned his head to catch him on the top of his muzzle, Steve sliding the rest of the way to the ground. He turned to watch as Liberty turned his head awkward to sniff at the teeth marks before tentatively licking them. Liberty cleaned the wounds and the scales around them the best that he could before pulling his head back, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth rapidly. “I could cauterize them.”

Steve winced and shook his head. He would have been more worried if the wounds hadn’t stopped bleeding. Unless they had no other option Steve wanted to avoid cauterizing the wounds. The smell of burning flesh would carry and probably bring the heavyweight down on them. They wouldn’t fare too well against the heavyweight, not without a plan.

He crossed his arms over his chest, watching as Liberty resettled himself in the small clearing. He found himself measuring out Liberty’s length, trying to use it to compare to the heavyweight. It was hard when the impressions that he had gotten from the dragon had been in bits and flashes while he had been trying to distract it from snapping Liberty’s neck. The color of the dragon was what had stuck, and the way that it had carried itself. Most Western dragons naturally carried their tails low so they dragged along the ground. The Eastern dragons tended to carry their tails higher, which is how the heavyweight had moved.

Steve had prided himself on his working knowledge of dragon breeds, but it had been focused on the breeds within the European sphere of the war and it was seventy years out of date. All of the breeds that he had thought he had known had changed radically, all of them seeming to have the same profile as the breeds were refined. If anything, Liberty would be the better judge of what kind of dragon that it was and the best way to dodge it if it came after them again.

Liberty glanced up at the sky before lowering his head with a grumble. “They’re cocky. No one’s patrolling.”

“They don’t think anyone will find them.”

Liberty snorted, and resting his muzzle on his forelegs. “We should take advantage of that. What’s so important that they need guards _and_ a heavyweight?”

“I don’t know.” Steve resisted the urge to drum his fingers against his shield. “I don’t even know what dragon is over there.”

Liberty hummed to himself, the tip of his tail twitching. The dragon stared off into the forest before he shook his head. “I haven’t heard of any fire breathers that look like that, unless they’re new. But he didn’t look like a young dragon, even though he flew like one.”

“I can’t think of any dragon that can fly like that.”

“Neither can I.” Liberty lifted his head, staring at his fingers. “There’s something about the rings he was wearing…” He snorted and shook his head. “We’ll just have to be quiet and careful.”

Steve shrugged. “Easy enough.”

Liberty huffed, Steve not sure if the sound was one of agreement. The dragon didn’t give him much time to think it over, Liberty hauling himself to his feet. Liberty remained at a half crouch, trying to keep himself beneath the tree cover. “We still have to find Pepper. I didn’t get a good look when we flew over.”

Steve nodded. “Then that’s our first priority. I’ll go scout it out. You go hunt.”

Liberty puffed himself up, looking ready to argue. Steve shook his head, gesturing off to where he could hear the sound of the ocean breaking on the shore. “You had one cow yesterday and you’ve flown back and forth over the country. We have a heavyweight breathing down our necks and you’re our best defense _and_ our get away. I need you in top shape.”

The dragon glared at him for a moment before giving a grudging nod. Steve sighed and reached up to pat his muzzle. “Just like old times?”

Liberty gave him a long look before rolling his shoulder in a motion like a shrug. “We were more reckless.”

“We were younger.”

That got a laugh out of the dragon, Liberty nudging him. Steve stumbled back with the force behind the affectionate gesture, grinning back at the dragon.

Liberty snorted and started to move away, Steve watching the dragon weave through the trees. Liberty seemed to be heading down to the beach, which left him with moving as close to the villa as he could. The dragon would scout out the area while he hunted, although Steve doubted that whoever was in the villa would have spread that far down. They would have landed right in the middle of operations in that case. Now he just had to figure out what those operations were.

Steve tugged at his shield, adjusting its position before moving through the tangle of trees. He couldn’t imagine why they would have put their base of operations so close to obvious cover, but maybe they weren’t thinking of the mansion as a military stronghold. Maybe they were thinking that the presence of a dragon would keep everyone away. The dragon was impressive, but it wouldn’t be enough to frighten him off. There had been plenty of dragon guarded bases that he had stormed in Europe and Steve had learned that dragons were never on guard all the time. During the heat of the day they were easily lulled to sleep. In the heat of the Florida day, Steve was sure that the heavyweight was already dozing. The guards would probably be the next to go, meaning that he could poke around to his heart’s content.

He didn’t intend to enter the mansion, not until he had a good count of the guards and their position. Having Liberty at his back would be worth waiting for as well. The dragon would be useful at pinpointing exactly where people were far before he saw them. Besides, most people ran when a dragon came stooping down at them. All they would have to do is wait until the heavyweight slipped away and they could have the run of the place.

Steve dropped into a crouch as he approached one of the back walls. He eyed the scuff marks that he could see before shaking his head and starting to edge his way around the compound. As far as he could see, the walls extended all the way around the back. He remembered the entrance to the place was wide open, but far too small to try and get Liberty through. Over the walls would be their best route.

He approached the wall, pressing his side against it as he looked for handholds. They were relatively easy to find, Steve hitching himself up into the first one. He climbed the wall slowly, listening for the sound of people moving on the inside. There were guards, he could hear the sound of their voices, but they weren’t moving. Either they had just finished their patrol, or they weren’t going to bother.

He frowned at the thought, throwing one arm over the top of the wall. He had expected some kind of well-guarded place, but it seemed like everything was far too lax. There was every chance that it was just a private residence, maybe even the heavyweight’s captain’s, although that wouldn’t explain the guards.

Steve balanced himself carefully before peering over the wall, his gaze immediately going to the guards that were in place.

There were fewer than he expected, only three out in the courtyard. They were clustered close to the door, practically inside the building, probably to take advantage of the air conditioning. Even then, they seemed partially alert, their gaze drifting to a set of stairs and led somewhere out of Steve’s line of sight. He was tempted to twist and see where the stairs led, but he kept himself from moving too soon. He wanted to memorize the layout of the courtyard before exploring what else the mansion had to offer.

It was a fairly open space, with more than enough room for a dragon to land. The fountain in the center was the only thing that would cause difficulties, but that would be something that the heavyweight would have to contend with more than Liberty would. The entryways were fairly straightforward too, most of the walls made out of glass. Steve could see more people moving around inside, but he was too far away to pick out more than shapes.

He counted the buildings, frowning when he spotted a new building. It was more like a concrete block that had been deposited on the far side of the courtyard. More than that, the guards kept glancing at the building like they expected someone to walk out.

Steve frowned and shifted along the wall, carefully jamming his feet into new holds on the wall. The concrete building looked more interesting than the rest of the house. It was obvious that there was something in there, something that the owner of the mansion didn’t want the world to see. He was tempted to hop over the wall and peer through the windows in the new building, but the guards were still on alert. Lulled by the heat or not, there wasn’t enough cover to consider making his way over to the building. With Liberty off hunting and scouting, Steve would be on his own.

He dropped back down from the wall, making his way around the base of it. He might not have been able to move through the courtyard, but he could still try to get at the windows via the wall.

Steve dragged his hand along the wall, slowing down when he heard the steady beat of wings. He cursed and plastered himself against the wall, tipping his head back as he watched the heavyweight fly overhead.

The dragon circled over the courtyard before landing, its head ducking down only long enough to drop something. Steve heard the thud as the carcass dropped to the ground, daring to lift his head slightly. The dragon lingered over its kill before its head came back up, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. The dragon was on high alert, which would spoil any plan that they made. Steve had hoped that the dragon would stay out hunting longer, but something was keeping the dragon close.

He waited for the dragon to finish surveying the area before he dared to lift himself further up the wall again. Steve twisted himself so he could look over the wall without exposing too much of his head. He expected the dragon to pick him up immediately, but he was surprised to see the dragon in deep conversation with some of the guards.

The guards were talking in low voices, but it was impossible for the dragon to match the lower range of human voices.

“He did _what_?” The dragon’s tail lashed, the last forth of it knocking against the wall. The dragon didn’t seem to feel any pain, it was too busy looming further over the two cringing guards. “He wouldn’t have dared.”

The conversation went back to something quieter than what Steve could hear. Whatever it was, the dragon didn’t like it any better than the first bit of information. “That bastard. Doesn’t he know what he’s destroying? It’s everything and he just-” The dragon cut himself off with a low rumble.

That seemed to be the last straw for two of the guards. They darted back into what seemed like the main building. One wasn’t so lucky, the dragon planting a foreleg in the man’s way.

The man cowered against the dragon’s limb as the dragon leaned forward. “Where is she?” The guard made a vague gesture over at the concrete building, the dragon jerking its head in the same direction.

It stared at the building before snarling and shoving the man in the same direction. “Get her. I’ll take care of this. While you’re at it, tell Aldrich that I will have words with him.”

The guard ran off, a look of relief on his face. Steve didn’t blame him for it, an angry heavyweight was nothing to be casual about. Especially if that heavyweight was still pacing the courtyard.

Steve ducked back down behind the wall as the dragon pivoted his way. He tried to keep his breathing even, listening to the sounds of a dragon in a rage. He winced when he heard something smash against the wall. Steve remained posed on the wall for a moment more before dropping back to the ground as the dragon headed his way. He remained crouched at the base of the wall as the dragon stalked past, fully expecting the heavyweight to look over the wall and spot him. But, whatever had angered the dragon had its full attention.

The dragon stalked away from the wall, Steve counting the steps that it took away. He jogged away from the wall, not wanting to risk the dragon looking over the wall. Liberty wasn’t in shouting distance, and Steve didn’t want to risk the dragon in a fight that they weren’t prepared for. Besides, the heavyweight was angry, and that was a losing battle right there.

At least they had a plan, even if it was sketchy. They just had to drop into the courtyard as soon as the heavyweight left and head for the building. Liberty would have to remain outside, but Steve was sure that he would hear any alert that Liberty gave. Steve would have preferred to have more people with him, but he doubted that he would have been able to get them. Everyone that he knew from SHIELD were too busy tracking down the Mandarin and he didn’t even know how to contact half of the Avengers.

He gave the wall one last look before pushing back through the trees. Liberty wouldn’t be back from hunting, but that gave him plenty of time to map out the mansion so he could explain the plan to Liberty before they went charging in.

* * *

Maya had expected to spend the short moments left of her life lying on the floor of the laboratory.

It wasn’t the place that she had imagined that she would die, but she hadn’t thought about the end of her life too much. Everything from the moment when Aldrich had hired her onto AIM to the moment when she had decided to go against his plan she had been focused on making Extremis. She had been blind to everything else, with no time to entertain what would happen later, aside from what plans they had for Extremis in the future. The few times she had thought about dying, she had always imagined it in her own bed, but the sense of things that she hadn’t accomplished yet seemed about right.

She could feel the tightness in her chest, Maya struggling to breathe even as the voices around her faded into nothing. The only thing left was the pounding of her heart and the great shadow that hovered over her. She smiled up at the shadow, remembering the stories that her mother had told her about angels.

Maya reached out her hand as the shadow dropped around her, feeling her fingers touch something warm before she was lifted from the ground.

* * *

His old captain had once told him that no plan survives first contact. Liberty remembered laughing at the little piece of wisdom, because he had been so sure about the rest of the dragons in his wing, so sure about what he had been told about his country. Anything that the commanders planned couldn’t go wrong. They were the strongest, so they would win. It was just another thing he had been young and foolish about, something that he hadn’t ignored while flying with the Howling Commandos. Then again, Steve’s plans tended to be slightly more flexible than the ones that he had gotten from the commanders of the Air Force.

Liberty had still expected the plan that Steve had come up with to last until they had landed in the courtyard. Even if things had gone wrong, he had at least expected Steve to be able to charge into their target building before they would have to rethink everything.

Steve had only gotten himself settled on Liberty’s back before Liberty heard something dart through the air. He looked up from where he was cleaning the last of the fish scales from his claws, halfway expecting to see the heavyweight landing in the courtyard, despite the fact that the dragon had taken off not five minutes ago with something held carefully in its claws. Liberty couldn’t imagine that the dragon would be so quick to return. Besides, the sound that the thing made in the air didn’t sound right.

He dared to raise his head just enough to peer above the trees, tipping his head as he saw something small speed through the air. He raised his wings slightly, hissing as it dove out of his line of sight. Liberty stood up slowly, trying to get a better view of where the thing had gone, but there were too many trees in the way. The only thing he had to rely on was the rough map of the place that Steve had sketched out on the ground. Liberty tipped his head to the side, studying the map again.

If the thing continued on the same course then it would be going right into the concrete building that Steve had wanted to storm.

He hummed to himself, rocking back onto his haunches. He didn’t leap into the air, Liberty still waiting for the signal from Steve. He wasn’t even sure if his captain had seen the thing come flying in, Steve had been working on checking that his breast collar was in place. Considering that it was the only other option Steve had aside from Liberty carrying him in his claws, Liberty didn’t blame his captain for wanting everything to be secure.

He turned his head to look back at Steve, nodding when he saw that his captain was staring at the mansion. Liberty lowered his head slightly so he and Steve could speak eye to eye, but he didn’t get the chance to start a conversation. A familiar high pitched wine filled the air, Liberty rising onto his hind legs before he could stop himself, but he knew that whine. It was the sound of repulsors in use, a sound that Liberty had only heard it when Iron Man was around. And, if Iron Man was around, Tony would be around too. Liberty spread his wings to keep his balance, looking around for the familiar flash of red and gold through the air.

It didn’t come, but more bright pieces of metal flashed through the sky, all of them going to the same place. Liberty shifted to try and get a better look at the concrete building, giving up when he felt himself tipping.

Liberty snorted and came down onto all four legs. He dug his talons into the dirt, glaring in the direction of the mansion. Something was going on, and Liberty bet that it had to do with Tony, although he couldn’t imagine how Tony could have gotten to the mansion before they had. It was probably a waste of time to try and figure out what Tony had been doing, the man was always one step ahead of everyone else. He gave himself a quick shake, feeling his breast collar move a bit, but it was nothing beyond its usual motion. “All lies well.”

He turned his head to look back at Steve, full expecting the nod he was given. Steve dropped into a crouch, his shield already slung over one arm. “Go.”

Liberty didn’t need more encouragement. He pushed off of the ground, already twisting slightly to the side to angle himself toward the mansion faster. He felt the now familiar stretch of muscles on his right side, but it wasn’t painful anymore. It was only a short hop from the clearing that they had touched down in to the mansion courtyard. He would just have to get high to avoid the bits of metal as they came in.

He beat his wings, rising in altitude before starting a wide circle. As much as he wanted to just drop down into the courtyard, he didn’t want to charge in without checking. He and Steve had seen a heavyweight, but there could be another dragon. Human guards could only go so far, and Liberty couldn’t imagine that the heavyweight would have flown off to leave the mansion unguarded. Liberty had known confident dragons, but they were never that confident.

He flexed his claws in the air, quickly tightening his circle before coming down for a landing. Liberty dropped quickly, curling himself awkwardly to avoid the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. It wasn’t completely in his way, but it was the perfect drop site for Steve. Liberty lowered himself in a crouch long enough for Steve to slide down his leg, and then he was moving off. Liberty gave his captain a quick glance before doing the same, shuffling through the garden as he peered into the windows.

The guards inside the house had taken notice, Liberty jerking his head back as the first shots were fired. He hissed at them, putting as much distance as he counted them. Only three were brave enough to come out into the garden, and one of them lingered by the door. The man was waving at people that were still inside of the house, Liberty shaking his head as he heard high pitched screams.

He didn’t have time to think on the screams, not with the guards taking aim at him. Liberty snarled and lunged forward, having to hop awkwardly around the fountain. It wasn’t an impressive move, but the guards stumbled backwards. He shifted his weight, having to step into the fountain basin to swipe at the guards.

Liberty felt his talons hit the metal of the gun, the force of his swipe knocking the gun out of one of guard’s hands. The other was faster, the man practically tucking and rolling to get away from him. Liberty followed, snapping at the guard.

He heard a clatter as something hit the ground. Liberty tilted his head to see the gun lying on the path through the garden. He stepped forward to stand on the gun, opening his mouth threateningly. It didn’t take much more to convince the two guards to run, Liberty taking a few steps after them. The guards raced around the side of the house, Liberty snorting at their rush before he rounded on the last guard.

The man hovered in the doorway before dashing into the house. Liberty followed as best as he could, sticking his nose through the door. It was hard to see too far inside the mansion because of the glass and the angle of his head, but he could hear women screaming clearly. The sounds were getting fainter as they ran away, Liberty twisting his head to try and spot them before he gave up and pulled his head back.

He reached up to paw at his nose, trying to clear out the scents of alcohol, sex and drugs. Liberty snorted and took a step back, eyeing the roof of the building.

Carefully, he stood up on his hind legs, using the roof to steady himself as he looked around. He could see a few more guards and scantily clad women running for the front of the mansion. It was not the behavior he expected from anyone he would have found in the mansion, let alone anyone that was connected to the Mandarin.

He drummed his claws against the roof before easing himself down again. He shot a glare in the direction of the fleeing people before turning back to the concrete building. Nothing about the place seemed right for the hide out of a wanted terrorist. For one, it was in the United States and so easily found. It made him uneasy, especially about leaving Steve on his own. Liberty didn’t think that he would be able to fit into the building, but there seemed to be enough windows that he could look in and spot Steve.

Liberty clambered over the fountain, not caring that it gave a little bit. He thought he heard something metal crunch in it. Liberty was about to shake it off when he heard the sound again. He paused with one foot off the ground, turning his head from side to side until he caught sight of something red moving on a colonnade. Liberty tensed, ready to spring until he recognized the familiar shape of the red and gold armor.

He bounded away from the fountain, covering the distance between it and the colonnade in two strides. He saw the armor recoil for a moment before the face plate flipped up. By then, Liberty was already pressing his nose against the glow at the center of the chest plate. “Tony.”

Liberty felt the gauntlets rest on his face, sighing when they slid up to rub at the scales underneath his eye. It wasn’t the touch he preferred, and the suit obscured most of Tony’s scent, but it was enough. The smell of the armor and the repulsors was close enough to Tony’s scent now that Liberty didn’t feel the need to claw the armor off to check that Tony was alright. He didn’t think he could manage it without tearing the suit to shreds. He closed his eyes, nudging his nose into Tony’s chest one more time before pulling away.

Tony’s hands slid down his muzzle, resting just between his nostrils. Liberty was glad for the contact, leaning slightly into it. He heard Tony laugh, the man giving him one last pat before stepping away. “Didn’t expect the cavalry here. Who found me?”

Liberty cocked his head in confusion. He threw a glance back at the concrete building to check on Steve before he looked back at Tony. “Aren’t you here for Pepper?”

“She’s not here.”

Liberty jerked his head up, flicking his tongue out to taste the air. He couldn’t smell anything but the metal of the armor and the scent of the heavyweight. Pepper’s scent could be under that, but he couldn’t pick it up. He shook his head, aware that his wings were starting to lift from his sides. “I saw her being brought here. I followed that heavyweight.”

“What heavyweight?”

Liberty stared at Tony in incomprehension. If Tony had come in then it was impossible that he could have missed such a huge dragon, but he doubted that Tony would have missed Pepper. He huffed and turned to glare at the courtyard.

He had been so sure that he was right, despite the distance between him and the heavyweight. Then again, he and Steve had taken time to find a place to examine the bite marks on his neck. There was every chance that Pepper could have been taken somewhere else.

He glanced back over at Tony. “Do you know where she is?”

“That’s the next thing on my list. You bring reinforcements?”

Liberty didn’t get the chance to answer, the door to the concrete building slamming open. He spun around, Liberty hearing the whine of a repulsor charging up. His initial aggression leaked away when he saw Steve and Rhodey running out from the building.

Steve was the first to slow down, his arm rising in a motion for Liberty to pick them up, but the signal stopped halfway through. Steve looked between him and Tony before sighing and slinging his shield onto his back. Rhodey was a beat behind him, the man aiming his gun at the two of them before shaking his head. “That solves one problem.”

Liberty ducked his head so he would be at eye level with Rhodey, giving the man a nod. “Colonel.”

“Captain.” The greeting was accompanied by a quick glance at the bars pinned to his breast collar. Rhodey looked up at where Tony was still poised on the colonnade before holstering his pistol. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“We had to take a little detour.” Liberty glanced back at Steve, watching as his captain gave him an amused smile. He flicked his tail in Steve’s direction, the move purposefully falling short of Steve. “Did you track the Mandarin here?”

“Something like that.”

There was some embarrassment in Rhodey’s voice, Liberty tipping his head to the side at it. He sighed and lifted his head, scanning the sky for the heavyweight. The guards might have run right to the dragon to get it back, and Liberty didn’t want to be caught on the ground when the larger dragon came tearing back in.

He stepped in the direction of the main building. “Come on. The two of you will need to find some makeshift harnesses. We’re getting out of here.”

“Not without the Mandarin.”

Liberty turned to look at Rhodey, shifting in place. He doubted that the Mandarin was in the mansion, not with the lax security. If anything, the Mandarin had probably left when the heavyweight had.

The heavy clanking of metal drew Liberty’s attention to where Tony was navigating down the stairs of the colonnade. Liberty stepped forward to offer his muzzle as a way to balance, but Tony ignored it. He was already walking towards the man building, flicking two fingers in same direction. “I’ve got a surprise for you, sweetheart. Since you got kidnapped.”

Rhodey sputtered but followed Tony. Liberty fell into step behind them, turning his head slightly to look back at Steve.

His captain was jogging alongside him, a frown on his face. Liberty slowed down, stopping when he was half crouched under the roof of the main house.

Tony gave him a pat as he breezed by. “Two minutes.”

“I’ll hold you to it, or I’m coming after you.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Tony flashed him a bright smile, one of his rare truthful ones, before he slid through the sliding doors. They were slightly off track from when Liberty had peered into the building, but they were pushed back far enough that he could stick his muzzle into the cool of the building, but he didn’t.

He turned to look at Steve, resting his head close to his captain. “What did you find?”

“Research labs. All of them were empty. I found Colonel Rhodes coming from one of them, but nothing else. We both followed Stark’s trail out of there.”

“Where there as many guards as you were expecting?”

“No. But there was a fresh bloodstain in one lab.” Steve sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. “I overheard the heavyweight talking about something Aldrich had done. Someone must have gotten shot.”

“Could it have been a lab accident?”

Steve shook his head. “No, everything else was in place.”

“So there’s division in the ranks.” Liberty’s gaze slid back to the mansion. The more information he got about the mansion, the more confused he was about what was going on.

If Maya’s boss really worked with the Mandarin like she suspected, then the Mandarin would have been hiding in the mansion. There had been the guard staff for it initially, but none of the guards had acted like they were anything more than guns for hire. In fact, it had been too easy to get into the mansion, and Liberty hadn’t bothered with stealth.

He growled low in his throat, shifting further out from underneath the roof. He wanted to be ready to fly as soon as the order came. Tony could fly on his own and he could scoop up Steve and Rhodey. They wouldn’t get too far, just far enough for Liberty to set down long enough for the two to climb up onto his back. They could figure out where they were going from there.

Liberty lifted his head slightly, grunting when it knocked against the edge of the roof. He shook his head, freezing when he saw Tony giving him a lazy beckoning motion from inside. “Cap, you might want to see this. Liberty, I’m going to need a hand, or a set of teeth.”

Liberty exchanged a quick look with Steve, shifting to follow up close after his captain. He wedged his muzzle back into the opening, growling when the door prevented him from seeing anything. He reached forward and yanked the door off of the track, tossing it somewhere behind him as he pushed into the mansion again. It didn’t clear up too much of vision, but it did allow him to turn his head slightly so he could see out of one eye.

The room was large with a low ceiling, Liberty glaring at the ping pong table that had been shoved to one side. Just behind the table were a pair of chairs and a couch, although the couch was pushed against another window. One of the chairs was turned away from him, but the other had been hauled around. Liberty snorted at the man he saw sitting in the chair, eying the elaborate robes that the man was wearing.

The man smelled much like the rest of the mansion; like sex, alcohol and drugs. Liberty sneezed, rubbing the end of his muzzle against the carpet. That just made the scent worse. Liberty grumbled and lifted his head as far up as the door would allow him.

The motion made the man in the chair squeak and shrink further back into it. He clutched his beer can like it was the only thing that would save him from Liberty. He was tempted to reach out and snatch the beer can away, just to amuse himself, but he held still. With the way that the man was looking at him, Liberty was sure that the man would faint with fright if Liberty made another move towards him.

He turned his attention to Steve and Rhodey, the two of them adopting identical poses as they stared at the man. Tony seemed to be the only one in control of the situation. He made a sweeping gesture towards the man. “Tell them what you told me.”

The man opened and shut his mouth, Liberty not sure that the man would be able to speak until Rhodey’s hand dropped to the gun tucked into his waistband. The man squeaked again, the beer can tumbling from his hands. “My name is Trevor. Trevor Slattery. I play the Mandarin.”

Liberty snorted in disbelief, the sound echoed by Steve. Trevor whimpered and curled in on himself, his gaze jumping from the three humans to Liberty.

Rhodey was the first to break the silence that followed, the man huffing and pulling out his gun. “So we just believe you?”

“Of course.” Trevor made unintelligible sounds for a moment before making a desperate gesturing at Liberty. “Your dragon could eat me. Why would I lie?”

Liberty grumbled and twisted his tail irritably. “I just might if you don’t tell us everything.”

“Everything?” Trevor gave Tony a helpless look, relaxing when Tony waved him on.

“I’ll fill the two of you in later. What I want to know is why Killian wanted my armor.”

“ _My_ armor.”

Tony rolled his eyes and stepped away from the chair. “Fine. Why did Killian take the Iron Patriot?”

Trevor shrugged, his hands dropping to play with the robe. “I don’t know. I just read off the script and get told where to go.”

Liberty snarled, amused when Trevor jumped and tried to scramble out of the chair. The man threw an arm up, like that would protect him from the dragon. Trevor peered over his arm, staring at Liberty with wide eyes. “I swear, that’s all I get told! Anything else would ruin the aura of the performance.” He paused for a moment to take a quick breath, his arm shaking visibly. “But…but I was told that we would be filming the final lesson. Something to do with the president and an old oil wreck somewhere close. The Naamco or something. I don’t know, I just overheard the conversation.”

Liberty turned his head as he heard Rhodey curse, the man quickly holstering his gun. “The _Norco_. Tony, we’ve got to go.”

He jogged into the next room, Liberty hearing him rummage around. He twisted slightly, getting a glimpse of Rhodey digging through a rack of clothing before Steve stepped into his line of vision. Liberty backed up, carefully extracting himself from the sliding door space and back out into the courtyard.

He gave himself a shake as soon as he was free, making sure to make it as rough as he could. The breast collar didn’t move too far out of its place, but that was without the weight of the other people on it. Liberty huffed and took another step back, watching as Steve and Rhodey rushed out of the house.

Liberty watched as Rhodey started to assemble an assortment of belts into an arrangement that resembled a harness. He lowered his head to sniff at it, giving a concerned rumble.

Rhodey wasn’t his, but they had flown together briefly while searching for Tony in Afghanistan. Rhodey had been more than competent enough, far better than some of the soldiers who had been loaded on him for a search. More importantly, Rhodey was Tony’s and Tony was _his_. Liberty couldn’t imagine letting Tony down because he couldn’t keep his friend safe.

He tipped his head from side to side, trying to judge the makeshift rig the best he could. It looked enough like the rest of the harnesses that he had seen his crew wear that Liberty guessed that it would work. He would still have to stay aware of any changes of the human’s positioning on his back.

Liberty dropped down to his stomach, stretching out a foreleg so Steve and Rhodey could climb easily onto his back. He swung his head back towards the mansion. Tony was still lingering behind, Liberty confused by the way that he was stalling. He had never seen the armor slow Tony up in any way. It looked and sounded ungainly, but more in the way that the full armor rig that he had worn during World War I had felt.

He heard the two clipping in before Tony walked out of the mansion, a car battery hooked up to the arc reactor in his chest.

Liberty made a concerned sound and scooted forward, going to touch his nose to the bright light when Tony pushed him away. “Not unless you want a shock.”

“No, but you’re not going to be able to fly with that.”

“I know. I was going to beg a ride.” Tony reached down to flick open a portion of the armor. There was a flash of silver among the red and gold, Tony pulling out a carabiner. “If you can take the weight.”

Liberty snorted and stretched out a hand for Tony. “I’ve hauled French 75s. You’ll weigh next to nothing.”

He didn’t wait for Tony to respond, waiting for Tony to step into his waiting hand before lifting him up onto his back. Liberty was slightly surprised at the weight. Tony had always moved so easily in the armor that Liberty expected it to be lighter. He shook his head and handed Tony up onto his back, waiting until he heard the man clip in. That didn’t stop him from turning his head and looking at the men on his back, sighing when he realized that Tony was the only one standing up. Both Steve and Rhodey had already dropped into the usual crouch in preparation for his jump into the air. Tony would adjust soon enough, the man had flown enough in his life. The only thing that was keeping him in place was the fact that he didn’t have a direction to go.

Liberty opened his wings, fanning them slightly to stretch his muscles. “So, the _Norco_?”

Rhodey was the one to answer, the man shaking his head. “No, we need to get to the president. They have the Iron Patriot, so no one will question their approach. He should be flying close, we can warn him away. Tony, try to contact Columbine II. The signal should be easy enough for you to pick up.”

Tony huffed, the sound just audible before the face plate snapped down. Rhodey didn’t give Tony much time to start the call, he was too busy leaning forward to wrap a hand around the chain of the breast collar. “Start west and call out degrees. We’ll adjust until we see Columbine.”

“Right.” Liberty launched himself into the air, unable to stop himself from glancing back to check that Rhodey and Tony were still on. Rhodey had survived the jump, but Tony had rocked back onto his heels. He had flung one hand to keep his balance, but hadn’t activated the repulsor.

He let his haunches drop anyway, not wanting to risk another burn. It was bad enough that his neck was still sore from the bite, he didn’t want to lose the ability to jump into flight. If that happened, then there would be no saving Pepper or the president.

Liberty evened out his flight, adjusting a few degrees to the left before starting to put on speed. He was sure that Steve would scold him for it later, but it wasn’t like he could hold a fast pace. Besides, any damage to his wing and side had probably already been done in his flight across the country. A short chase after the presidential heavyweight would be nothing in comparison.

* * *

Columbine II was easy to pick out of the sky, the black markings on the edges of her wings separating her out from the sky. The heavyweight was moving at an easy pace, Steve almost surprised to see that the McClellan’s Blue looked like the few dragons he had seen back in the forties. With the slow change in breeding to something smaller and able to fly for longer distances, he had expected that the president’s official dragon would have changed to match the times. Still, it didn’t look like Columbine was having any trouble, her wingbeats an even tempo that Steve expected of every dragon that had settled into their preferred flight speed. Liberty would have no problem gaining on her.

He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, trying to count the number of people on the dragon’s back. It was hard with the module that was clamped into place on the harness. Steve was sure that the president would be in the module along with his secret service. There were a few more secret service members scattered outside on the harness, but it was easy to tell those from Columbine’s crew, they all stood stiffly like anyone who didn’t fly on dragons every day of their life. The rest of the crew was moving easily over Columbine’s back, going about their various duties.

Steve watched one woman clamber up from the belly netting of the McClellan’s Blue before his gaze caught on something flashing in the sunlight. He caught sight of a blue figure moving along the dragon, Steve reaching out to tap on Rhodey’s shoulder. He didn’t have to point the armor out, Rhodey immediately leaning over to get a better look at it before nodding.

“Looks like he’s requesting permission to board.”

“And they have no reason not to let him.” Steve leaned forward to rest a hand on Liberty’s neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rhodey reach up for the headset that wasn’t there. The colonel was probably used to the comm system that was always in place, but Steve still always thought to shout orders first.

He cleared his throat, rocking forward before shouting into the wind. “We need to get up there.”

Liberty responded with a slight tip of his head, his wingbeat cut strangely short as he changed his rhythm. Steve ducked his head against the increase of the wind, taking the change to look back over the two other men with him.

Rhodey was rocking easily with the new moment, his eyes constantly moving as he took in the situation. Steve was sure that Rhodey already had a plan, although it would be hard to speak to each other over the roaring wind. He bit his lip and glanced up at Columbine.

The dragon had slowed slightly, her head turned as the Iron Patriot armor kept pace with her. Steve guessed that clearance to land was still being worked out, but the heavyweight was still too far ahead. Liberty could fly as fast as he could, but the Iron Patriot would land before the dragon could get there. They needed someone faster, someone that would be instantly recognizable and trusted.

Steve turned to look back at Tony, relieved when the face plate turned to look at him. It was hard to judge what Tony was thinking, especially when the face plate was down.

He took a deep breath before motioning over at the dragon ahead of them. “We need an intercept.”

“10-4, Cap.” Tony reached up to tug at the wires that ran into the arc reactor. Steve winced at the move, halfway expecting the glowing circle to go dark. The glow dimmed a bit, but it didn’t seem to slow Tony down.

He shoved the battery and dangling wires into Steve’s hand, giving him a mocking salute. “Take care of that for me.”

Steve was sure that a wink should have followed the statement, but he didn’t have time to think too hard on it. Tony reached down to unclip from Liberty, jumping easily to one side between wing strokes. Steve leaned over to track his progress, sighing when the repulsors kicked to life and Iron Man went soaring through the air.

Liberty’s head jerked to follow Tony’s progress, but that was the only deviation from his flight. If anything, he pushed himself faster to keep up with Tony.

Steve fumbled with the car battery before he managed to find a comfortable way to hold it halfway braced against Liberty’s back and his leg. He looked back up at Columbine, cursing when he saw Iron Patriot standing in front of the module as a man stepped out. At their distance it was hard to pick out faces, but Steve was sure that the president had come out of the module to talk to the man he assumed was Rhodey. Tony could hack into their systems and shout all the warnings he wanted, but they would be too late unless someone noticed Iron Man bearing down on them.

He felt more than heard the rumbling growl that Liberty gave, agreeing with the noise completely. It seemed like they had been a step behind Tony or the Mandarin. For once, Steve had wanted something to go their way long enough for them to catch up. He leaned forward, like the motion would help Liberty put on more speed.

Ahead of them the Iron Patriot shuddered, the armor splitting open as a man stepped out. Steve saw the president recoil and the two secret service members start forward. They stumbled with the motion, the hesitation enough time for the man to reach for them. Instead of going for the guns, the man grabbed onto their harness straps, pulling them away easily. Without the straps, the men stumbled and tumbled over Columbine’s side.

Liberty roared in fury, the sound and the screams of the falling men making Columbine turn. The heavyweight twisted back on herself with a hiss, trying to snap at the man as he shoved the president into the Iron Patriot armor. The motion was violent enough that the armor went plummeting over the side of the dragon.

Steve didn’t have to tell Liberty to go after the president, the Firecracker was already stooping after the armor. The wind whistled over them, Steve pressing himself more closely against Liberty’s neck. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rhodey doing the same, the two of them trying to make the dragon as streamlined as possible. Liberty shifted slightly, reaching out with his forelimbs.

He didn’t get the chance to snatch up the suit, Liberty snorting and pulling up abruptly as the repulsors sputtered to life, sending the suit upwards and out of his reach. He flared his wings out to slow himself down further, Liberty clawing at the air as he attempted to twist himself after the suit. Liberty roared as he rose, snapping at the air as the suit dodged around him and out towards the open ocean.

Steve felt Liberty gather himself together, the dragon ready to turn to go after the Iron Patriot suit. Steve reached out to touch Liberty’s neck. “Leave him for Tony. Climb!”

Liberty snorted and twisted back on himself, his wings beating furiously as he tried to gain altitude.

Columbine was turning her head from side to side trying to get a better look on what was happening on her back. The man was still standing firm on Columbine’s back despite the way that the McClellan’s Blue was bucking and twisting. He had a gun pointed at where Columbine’s captain was standing on her neck. Steve had no idea how the man was staying on, but he could see the dragon’s frantic bucking, which meant that it must have hurt.

He looked over to where Iron Man was coming in for a landing, Tony having to dodge the awkward wing beats to get down to Columbine’s back. Even then, he landed on her haunches, remaining crouched there briefly before he pushed off for the quick jump up to Columbine’s shoulders. The delay was just enough time for the man to move to the door of the module, slamming his hand against the panel to slide the door shut. A few more secret service managed to get out of the door, but the man picked them off of the harness as easily as he had the others. Although, now that Steve was closer, he could see the man’s hand glow orange as he pushed through the straps like they were butter.

Steve scrambled for a better hold on Liberty’s breast collar, about to order the dragon to dive. There was a chance that they could catch the secret service agents if Liberty turned fast enough. He expected Liberty to be ahead of him, but the dragon stayed on his course, flapping hard to cover the distance between him and the heavyweight. Steve yanked on the breast collar to get Liberty’s attention, but even that didn’t deter the dragon.

Liberty roared, the sound making the man turn his head to look at them. Steve saw a smile cross the man’s face, about to call Liberty to slow down.

He didn’t get the chance.

The man turned and fired two shots, one hitting the captain and making him slump in his harness. The other passed through Columbine’s eye in a spray of gore. The dragon’s body jerked before her head dropped, her flight wobbling before succumbing to gravity.

Tony wobbled in place on the dragon’s back, the man easily slipping around him to yank open the module door. With the way that the dragon was plummeting, the people on the inside started to fall out. Most of them probably had undone their carabiners to try and rush the door and the man to protect the president. Without those, they were tumbling out. The few that had kept clipped in were quickly tossed out as the man rushed into the room. Steve didn’t see what the man did, but he could see the results as the harness started slipping from the dragon.

He reached up to his ear automatically, about to shout for Tony when his fingers touched nothing. Steve cursed and fumbled for a better hold on the car battery. “Liberty!”

The dragon didn’t pause, his sides belling out as he got ready to shout what orders he deemed necessary. “The crew!”

Tony went down on one knee, steadying himself against the sliding harness for a moment. It was long enough to give them a nod before standing up again.

The man was strolling out of the module, looking at them with a grin on his face. Tony stepped up to the man, shoving him back against the module. There was the sharp whine of a repulsor and then the man went limp. Tony didn’t stay long, jumping off of the back of the dragon and plummeting after the falling crew members.

Liberty lunged forward, Steve slewing to the side as the breast collar slid with the move. He scrambled for a better hold, bracing himself as Liberty dropped close to Columbine’s body. From his slightly offset position he could see Liberty snatch up the fraying harness, the dragon grunting as he hauled it tight against the Columbine’s body.

Liberty dipped under the strain, the Firecracker dragged along after the superior weight of the McClellan’s Blue. He strained upward, the harness lifting away slightly as he pulled it away from the dragon.

Steve gave Liberty a quick pat, looking down at the five people that were still clinging to the harness. They were all slowly making their way to the forward part of the harness. Steve waved them on, watching as one of the straps under the strain snapped.

One of the crew members screamed, pressing his face against the harness. The rest came to a quick stop, looking between the next slipping strap and the hold that Liberty had on the harness.

Steve looked over the situation, his gaze darting down to the river that they were falling towards. The water would break their fall, but the crewmembers would be tangled up in the harness and the limbs of the dragon as she sank. Even if they did unclip, they would be in danger of being trapped under the dragon as she turned.

He slapped his hand against Liberty’s neck, repeating the motion when the dragon didn’t look at him. He waited until he could see Liberty’s blue eye before he motioned down at the harness. “Neck and shoulder! Get it away.”

Liberty nodded, dropping closer to the McClellan’s Blue. He dropped the harness from one hand, using it to slash at the straps across the dragon’s neck and over the shoulder. The harness dropped away from the dragon, Liberty quickly beating up to pull the section that he was holding away from Columbine.

It came away slowly, Liberty having to twist to slash at another strap before the harness section dropped away. Liberty back winged quickly, drawing the harness away from the corpse.

Steve remained far over Liberty’s shoulder, watching as Columbine and her captain plummeted towards the sea before he threw his weight against the breast collar. Liberty didn’t need the order to head towards the nearest shoreline, he was already making a beeline for the bridge that spanned the river. He veered towards one bank, rising just far enough to let the harness scrap down carefully onto the ground.

The crewmembers that were the closest to the ground unclipped first and helped him guide it down. The others dismounted with the same speed, Liberty tossing away the remains of the harness before landing. He was awkwardly in one lane, but Steve didn’t care, Liberty deserved the rest. His breathing was fast, his sides heaving in and out as he tried to catch his breath.

Steve let the dragon recover, unhooking himself and sliding off of Liberty’s back. He brought the car battery with him, dropping it on the ground as he walked over to where the five crewmembers were clustered together. Steve could hear them talking amongst each other, checking each other for injuries. Steve left them to it for a moment, searching for Iron Man in the sky.

Tony wasn’t as high up as he expected, Iron Man hovering slightly above the surface of the river. Steve could see the heads of thirteen people bobbing around in the water.

Steve sighed and leaned against the railing between the river and the sidewalk. He didn’t want to look down the river where he had come from, not when Columbine’s corpse was probably still sinking into the water.

If they had been faster, they could have saved the four secret servicemen and the captain. Although, Steve was sure that Columbine’s captain would have fought to the end no matter what had happened. At least they had saved a few lives, which was better than failing entirely.

He sighed and let his head drop forward. His heart was still pounding frantically, Steve feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline that came after a fight. He had been running on it since Liberty had landed in the mansion’s courtyard and it didn’t look like he would be coming down from the rush anytime soon. There was another person to save now, but at least he was in the same place as Pepper.

Steve ran a hand down his face, lifting his head when he heard Iron Man fly in. He watched as Tony came to his skipping stop, although the finesse that he had come to expect from Tony was lacking. Tony stumbled into a stop, the armor peeling off of his and clattering to the ground. He practically ripped his helmet off as well, taking a deep breath of air before letting the helmet drop out of his hands.

Tony scrubbed a hand through his hair as he kicked at a piece of armor. “That took more than I expected.”

“You need to recharge? The battery is still here.”

Tony looked surprised at the suggestion, like he had expected Steve to drop it. As it was, Steve was surprised that he hadn’t dropped it in the rush. Then again, he had thought that it would be necessary when Tony got back. For all he knew, the arc reactor could be malfunctioning or something in the suit wasn’t working right. Tony had gone into the ocean before flying to God knows where and then to Florida.

He eyed Tony carefully, his gaze lingering on the arc reactor for a moment, trying to figure out if the glow was any different than before. To his eye, he couldn’t tell, which was a problem. Tony was a part of the Avengers, part of his team and he knew practically nothing more than what the files had said. He tightened his hands on the railing before he forced them to relax. That was a problem for another time.

Steve let go of the railing, taking a step back. “So, the _Norco_?”

Tony blinked at the change of subject, but the surprise was quickly over. He shrugged and turned to lean back on the railing, watching where Rhodey was organizing the lifting of the crew from the river with Liberty’s help. Steve felt a quick flash of guilt for not helping, but he needed to know what he was flying Liberty into.

He turned his attention back to Tony as the man sighed.  “The _Norco_ is before your time.”

“Really?”

“Fine. Pre-defrosting. It’s an oil tanker that ran aground and spilled, pretty badly. There was a call for aid and for Roxxon to do something about their mess. President Ellis did nothing, probably because Roxxon funded his whole campaign. It’s not Chinese but it sounds dramatic enough for the Mandarin.” Tony paused before tipping his head. “Probably too complicated for Trevor. Not for Killian.”

He groaned and stepped away from the railing, picking his way through the pieces of his armor. Tony bent down to examine a few pieces before shaking his head. “A battery won’t save this. It was a lousy prototype anyway.”

Steve didn’t miss the sigh that Tony gave. It might have been a lousy prototype, but Tony had had some kind of hope for it. Steve nudged a piece of armor with his toe. If Tony couldn’t make anything out of it, then they would need to do something about Tony. Liberty could easily take all of them out to the wreck of the ship, but Liberty wouldn’t fly with any of them loose. Without the armor, Tony had no way of hooking on.

He glanced over at the rescue operation, watching the last crewmember get lifted up from the water. His gaze lingered on the harness that the crewmember was wearing. Steve doubted that any of the crewmembers would be taking a dragon back, especially with the sirens that he could hear in the distance. They would be adjustable enough to keep Tony secure to the quick hop to wherever the _Norco_ had run aground.

Steve stepped around the messy pile of armor, touching Tony’s shoulder as he went by. He felt Tony jump under the touch, Steve quickly pulling his hand away. He turned the move into a gesture towards one of the crewmembers. “You’re going to need a harness.”

“Liberty won’t let me fall.”

“He won’t let you fly either.”

Tony gave the armor one last glance before shrugging. “No rest for the wicked then.” He turned on his heel and started walking to where Columbine’s crewmembers were gathered. Tony walked past Liberty, running a hand over the dragon’s side in a familiar gesture. “Get ready to fly, the boss is running us ragged.”

Steve wasn’t surprised by the fond noise that Liberty made towards Tony, but it felt strange to hear it. He was used to the almost croon being directed towards him alone, there were always different noises for the rest of the crew. Tony was the only one that Steve had heard that merited anything close to the sound that Liberty reserved for him.

The dragon lowered his head and nudged Tony in the direction of the crewmembers, the sign of affection nearly throwing Tony off of his feet. Tony took the motion in stride, his attention already on Rhodey.

Liberty kept his head half turned, giving Steve a long questioning look. Steve just waved the dragon on. They would be up in the air soon enough, and Steve wanted the chance to stretch his legs. He had no idea how far the _Norco_ would be or if they would be in for another aerial chase. If the latter was the case, then he would be spending it half crouched to make himself less of a target. Without a proper harness, it would be all too easy for a dragon to snatch him off, and that would just be a distraction for Liberty. Depending on the situation, they might need Liberty focused on what was going on.

He walked over to Liberty when the dragon didn’t turn away. Steve rested a hand against Liberty’s side, leaning into the warmth of the dragon as he waited for the ambulances to reach them.

* * *

The sea was dark beneath him, Liberty barely paying it any notice. His focus was on the bright lights ahead of him, the old wreck of the _Norco_ lit up like a Christmas tree. Even in the darkness and at a distance he could see the people scrambling around the old tanker. There were far more people that Liberty expected, although he couldn’t tell if they were guards or the people who would broadcast the final lesson for President Ellis. He would have to get closer to pick them out, but Liberty wasn’t sure that he would be able to do that. With all of the lights, he was sure that he would be spotted long before he had the chance to do a scouting flight.

Liberty tipped his head up, scanning the dark sky. The lights helped a bit, but Liberty was looking more for shadows crossing in front of the stars instead of a dragon flying in the lights. He assumed that any dragon close enough to be in the lights would have settled down on the tanker. The wreck was large enough to hold a heavyweight, and Liberty was suspicious that there was one on board.

He kept waiting for a flash of red and gold scales, Liberty flexing his claws where they were tucked up close against his body. Steve must have felt the shifting of muscles, because he rested a hand on Liberty’s neck. Liberty wanted to arch up into the touch, but he didn’t want to move his head too much, not when he was constantly scanning for danger.

Liberty dropped low, abandoning the easy thermals of hot air for flying in under the lights. He skimmed over the water, aiming for a section of dark near the back of the tanker. From what he could see, it would be easy enough to hold himself steady against the back of the tanker while the humans unloaded. He would have to drop into the water before he could fly again, something that made him long for the ability to hover. It was a useful adaptation that existed only in Eastern dragon breeds.

He tipped his head up as they flew alongside the tanker, Liberty twisting onto his side so he could grab the stern of the boat. He flared his wings out to slow him down, not wanting to splash into the ocean or rock the boat too much. Any of that would give them away.

Liberty bared his teeth and hauled himself parallel to the ship. Carefully, he flapped his wings, the motion keeping him above the water while his grip on the ship kept him in place. It was an uncomfortable forced hover, but it would hold him still enough for the three humans to crawl over his shoulder and onto the ship.

He turned his head, giving the three a nod, getting three separate nods in return. Liberty turned his head to keep a watch on the ship, his head tipping to the side after a click that meant that one of them had started to climb. He arched his neck slightly to make the spines on it line up better. It was the best way for them to clamber up onto the ship, even if it would take them across the bite marks that the heavyweight had given him. He bared his teeth and focused on the movement of the people.

From what he could tell, they were all in a rush, meaning that the four of them had gotten to the _Norco_ just in time. Liberty eyed a few cameras set up, tracing their line towards something suspended in the middle of the tanker. The cargo crates blocked his view of what was dangling there, but Liberty had his suspicious.

He bit back a growl when he felt pressure on the bite wounds, turning his head to watch as Rhodey slid awkwardly off his neck. Rhodey recovered quickly in a roll, the man quickly scrambling for cover. Rhodey glanced over at Liberty, waiting for the dragon’s nod before relaxing slightly. He edged closer to Liberty as the next carabiner unclipped, Liberty keeping his attention on Rhodey.

The man came to crouch by his head, Rhodey reaching out to lean on Liberty’s muzzle. “How many?”

“I wasn’t counting. They’re moving fast.” Liberty didn’t care lift his head any further. He could see the people still adjusting the camera angles, but that wasn’t all of the people on the _Norco_. He could definitely smell and hear more, but he couldn’t count them properly. Liberty glanced back down at Rhodey. “There’s something towards the center, but it’s lit up well.”

“We’ll have to make a detour, unless you want to distract them.”

Liberty hummed in agreement, stopping the noise quickly. He could distract the people well enough, so long as he made enough noise. He didn’t need to be told to avoid fire, he could smell the oil still thick on the tanker. If he had to, he would have to aim carefully.

He grunted when someone else stepped on the bite wounds, surprised to see Tony sliding down. Unlike Rhodey, Tony kept a hold of Liberty until he was on the tanker. Tony dropped into a crouch, running over to Rhodey and taking a knee beside him. Liberty watched as Tony fiddled with the gun that he held, resisting the urge to reach up and push Tony away slightly. He didn’t dare let go of the _Norco_ , but he didn’t want Tony to accidentally hit him.

He was thankful when Rhodey distracted Tony, gesturing towards the center. Liberty barely listened to the plan, his attention going back to the remaining human on his back. He turned his head slightly to see Steve getting ready to unclip his carabiner and make the climb up when the wind changed.

Liberty tensed, turning his head into the wind and taking a deep breath. The familiar scent of another dragon hit him, and a dragon that he knew. Liberty jerked his head up, hissing as he turned it from side to side.

“Liberty…”

He didn’t get the chance to answer Tony, his head stilling as he spotted the heavyweight rising from the other side of the tanker. The lights illuminated it completely, Liberty baring his teeth at the sight of the red and gold scales. The light flashed off the rings that the dragon wore. Liberty waited for the flash that always seemed to accompany them, but they remained almost dull in the lights of the _Norco_.

The dragon took two almost lazy wingbeats away from the ship, its head cocking to the side. Liberty snarled when the dragon gave him an amused smile, its double row of teeth clear in the lights. “You.”

Liberty clawed at the _Norco_ , trying to haul himself onto the wreck so he could protect Rhodey and Tony. Being on the solid deck of the ship would give him a better place to launch himself into the air.

He didn’t get too far up, Liberty rocking back as the dragon swooped low over the ship. Liberty turned to follow the motion, his grip on the ship slipping completely. He yelped as he splashed into the water, Liberty quickly clawing for the surface.

He broke to the surface, inflating his air sacks as fast as he could to get Steve above the water. Liberty turned his head to look at his captain, watching as Steve coughed before waving him off. “I’m fine. Focus on the mission.”

“We have to get you on the ship.”

“We don’t have time. We’ve got to keep that dragon away from the ship long enough for Tony and Colonel Rhodes to carry out their mission.”

Liberty snorted, but he didn’t have time to argue. The heavyweight was circling above them, his gaze fixed on Tony and Rhodey as they ran towards the center of the _Norco_. Liberty roared out a challenge, trying to draw the heavyweight’s attention to him, but the dragon barely flinched. It just circled closer to the deck, Liberty watching as its talons flexed, the rings flashing on its claws. Liberty had seen enough men torn apart by dragons’ claws to be able to picture what would happen to Tony and Rhodey, and Tony’s closest armor wasn’t working.

He snarled and pulled down hard on the stern of the tanker, managing to scramble up onto the deck. It was awkward to brace himself around the cargo crates, but he managed, making sure to place his body between Rhodey and Tony and the heavyweight. He pulled the neck back, using it to cover Steve as he spat fire at the heavyweight.

It wasn’t enough to ward the heavyweight away, Liberty hadn’t gotten the time to build up enough fire to make that attempt. But it was an obvious threat, one that most dragons would back away from.

Fighting was messy and dangerous. It was easier to make a lot of noise until one dragon backed off.

He bared his teeth, feeling the familiar warmth of the fire fill the back of his throat, Liberty spreading his wings wider in a threat display.

The heavyweight didn’t look impressed by it. In fact, the dragon barely looked back his way. It made a lazy circle of the area before turning away.

For a moment, Liberty thought that he was safe. The threat display had given Tony and Rhodey’s position away, but it was better than the two of them being dead. Besides, he could see the people onboard the _Norco_ staring in shock at the sight of another dragon. If Tony and Rhodey moved, they would still be able to dash out of sight. He could rise above the range of any weapons that the others hand, Tony and Rhodey couldn’t.

His brief reprieve didn’t last long, Liberty feeling Steve shift on his back. The motion pulled the breast collar back slightly, Liberty jerking his head up to watch as the heavyweight came on again. Liberty hissed and pushed off the ship, trying to put distance between him and the heavyweight.

He pushed forward slightly before dropping down on the heavyweight’s back. He doubted that his weight would be enough to bring the dragon down, but it put him in an ideal position to dig his claws in and bite down on the heavyweight’s neck. He couldn’t shake his head without falling off, but the bellow of pain was enough of a reward for him.

Liberty hunkered down, trying to get a better hold as the heavyweight arced up, the dragon twisting and bucking under him. Liberty shifted his hold, gripping onto the red and gold dragon for his life.

If he was shaken off he wasn’t sure he would be able to recover in time to avoid the heavyweight. The only chances he had were attacking in short bursts, using his superior maneuverability or sneaking up on the heavyweight where the dragon couldn’t easily reach. The other option was to line Steve up for shots at the dragon with his shield, but Liberty didn’t feel right putting Steve into danger. The heavyweight was flying without a captain, and probably wouldn’t hesitate to go after Steve, not unless it was far older than Liberty assumed.

The heavyweight roared and threw its head back, Liberty’s hold slipping. He kicked with his hind legs to get a better purchase when everything went dark.

Liberty instinctually froze, widening his eyes as he tried to see what was happening, but everything remained black. He could still smell the dragon that was bucking underneath him and he could hear Steve shouting for him, but he could see none of it. He let go of the heavyweight’s neck, turning his head to look in the direction of his back. He stretched his muzzle out to Steve, too cautious to poke blindly. He didn’t get the chance to find Steve, the heavyweight giving a huge buck.

His claws slipped free, Liberty scrambling for a hold as he fell. He tried to right himself, but it was hard to tell which way he should have been flying towards. If he was plummeting towards the water, he couldn’t tell where he would hit. He could crash into the deck of the _Norco_ and break his neck.

Liberty twisted himself around, hoping that he was aimed the right way only to get buffeted by a wing. He drifted slightly, shaking his head as he tried to clear the ringing for it. He didn’t get any more time to recover as he crashed into the ocean.

He gasped as he hit the water sideways, sinking slightly under the water before he managed to turn and push back up to the surface. Liberty bobbed there, twisting his head frantically from side to side as his vision cleared.

The _Norco_ was the first thing that he could see, Liberty looking at the oil tanker as his vision faded back to him. He could hear shouts and gunfire coming from the ship, Liberty hanging onto those familiar sounds; they meant that he hadn’t lost all of his senses.

He turned his head around, sighing when he saw that Steve was still clinging to his back. His captain shook his head to get the excess water off, Liberty taking the chance to reach back to press his nose close to Steve. “You alright?”

He got a curt nod as a reply, Steve standing up to stare at the sky. Liberty followed his gaze, scanning the sky for the heavyweight. He could see something moving against the stars, but it was hard to tell the shape. If he hadn’t known that the heavyweight was there then Liberty would have dismissed it as something similar to what had happened to his vision.

Liberty shook his head hard, ignoring the throbbing pain from his neck. He bared his teeth at the strange sight, beating his wings wildly to rise from ocean. Liberty lifted slowly from the water, resisting the urge to shake the water off of him. The breast collar might get turned around and he didn’t have the time to be snatching Steve away from dangling over the water. He needed to find the heavyweight before he was knocked into the water again.

He beat upwards rapidly, rising to the same level as the strange disturbance in the sky. It remained there for a moment more before the heavyweight suddenly appeared, its mouth open wide.

Liberty dodged to the side, dropping to go under the heavyweight’s wings. He twisted, catching sigh of something whizzing past him. He followed the course of the shield, back winging so Steve could catch it on the rebound.

He heard singular sound of the vibranium as it moved through the air, the shield hitting the wing joint hard before it came back. Liberty twisted to one side to line Steve up for the catch, watching as the heavyweight fumbled the next stroke. The dragon’s wing was slower to respond, Liberty watching it twitch back like the heavyweight was going to fold it to the side. The heavyweight roared and stretched its wing out and came around, although it was more slowly than before.

The shield might have slowed the dragon, but it hadn’t done anything more than bruise the wing as Liberty hadn’t heard anything crack. He snarled and dove. He would line Steve up with another shot at the opposite wing, but only after he ran his own strafe.

Liberty dropped in low, breathing spirts of fire along the heavyweight’s back. The flame and sparks settled on the scales, but the mane that ran down the dragon’s back went up quickly. The heavyweight roared, turning over to swipe at Liberty. He darted away just ahead of the claws, roaring his own reply back as he dropped.

He tried to steady his flight long enough to give Steve a shot at the heavyweight’s other wing, but the dragon plunged into the water.

Liberty pulled himself up short, circling warily over the place where the heavyweight had disappeared. He lashed out at the waves before climbing. He thought he caught a flash of red under the water, but he wasn’t willing to chase after it. The heavyweight would easily be able to pull him into the water and hold him there.

With Killian heading the operation, there could be other dragons, ones that would be called in to chase off the threat. He couldn’t see any dragons heading his way, nor could he see any of the other strange distortions that had hidden the heavyweight, although Liberty suspected that it was an ability unique to the heavyweight. He had seen the dragon fly faster than any dragon could and breathe fire, and the only heavyweight that Liberty was aware of being able to breathe fire was the Kazilik. He had seen a few of the Kaziliks during World War I, and the heavyweight looked nothing like them.

He felt Steve shift on his back, the edge of the shield briefly pressed against his scales as he captain adjusted himself. “Stay sharp.”

Liberty snorted as a response, glancing over to the _Norco_. The fight was still going on there, Liberty watching people running along the walkways, some of them jumping right off. He snarled and banked towards the tanker only to bring himself up short when he caught the strong scent of metal and repulsors. He ducked his head to rub his nose against the side of his leg, but the smell didn’t get away. He lifted his head, giving a jubilant roar when he saw an armor flying towards the _Norco_.

The first armor was followed closely by another, Liberty watching as model after model of the Iron Man armor filled the sky. He gave the armors a wide berth, but none of them seemed to be focused on him.

On a signal that he didn’t see, the armors broke off to plunge into the melee. Liberty spun away from an armor that swung around the ship, getting a glimpse of Tony and Rhodey charging through the walkways. He wanted nothing more than to swoop in and clear the way for them. There were more people who smelled like fire, their skin glowing even under the lights of the _Norco_. He hissed and opened his mouth to fire on them.

There was a loud splash from one side of the ship, Liberty whipping his head around to see the heavyweight rising out of the ocean. The dragon reached out and snatched one of the armors out of the air with ease, crunching the metal between the double row of its teeth.

The heavyweight glanced at them, the dragon contemptuously spitting the armor to the side as it rose in the air. It gained height faster than Liberty, even with its lagging wing. Liberty snarled and climbed as best that he could, but the heavyweight would easily be able to stoop on him before Liberty could get at its underside.

He tipped his head to the side, watching as Steve took in the situation before his captain motioned to the side. “Get me over. We’re taking out that other wing.”

Liberty altered his flight path, allowing himself to slide under the heavyweight and to the left. If the heavyweight suspected anything, the dragon didn’t show it. It just kept rising, the same low growl rising from it. Liberty responded with his own, hoping that the dragon would back off before he had to engage again. He could keep snapping at the heavyweight’s flanks and inflicting minor damage, but he was old enough to know that he wouldn’t be able to hold on his own. The heavyweight would eventually snatch him out of the air, and then he would have to worry about righting himself in time or getting Steve to safety.

He pulled into place, Liberty moving his head off to the side. It was hard to hold it out of the way and at an angle where he could see Steve. His captain met his gaze, giving him a quick nod. “Follow and catch if you can, don’t wait for me.”

Liberty grumbled, the protest lost in the sound of the shield being thrown. He turned to follow the circular shield, dropping further under the heavyweight as the shield cracked against the heavyweight’s wing joint.

The dragon roared and toppled to the side, Liberty beating up to draw even with the shield. He was just short of reaching it himself, but Steve could easily snatch it out of the air before it slammed into Liberty. His focus was on the soft belly scales that had been revealed to him.

He opened his mouth to snap at the scales, not daring to breathe fire when it would fall back down on him and Steve. Liberty bit down hard on the dragon’s vulnerable underbelly. He felt the dragon jerk, not getting the time to really get a hold on the dragon before one of the heavyweight’s hind legs kicked out towards him.

Liberty yanked his head away, falling back as the heavyweight started to right itself. He meet the dragon’s gaze as he started his tight circle around it, trying to hide the way he was panting for breath. He was used to fighting dragons of his weight, the heavyweights had been pushed back into people transport or for hauling cargo across continents. It had been close to seventy years since he’d had to face off against a dragon so much larger than him, and the heavyweight knew it.

The dragon grinned, its tongue flicking out quickly before it shook its head. “I’m losing my patience with you.”

Liberty just snarled in response, the dragon looking like it expected as much. The heavyweight twisted awkwardly into a circle about the _Norco_ , its wings beating out an unsteady rhythm. The dragon eyed him carefully, its gaze darting briefly to Steve before its focus settled on Liberty.

For a moment, it looked like the heavyweight would say something else, but then there was a swell of flame from the tanker below.

Liberty quickly turned his stomach towards the flame, back winging quickly to put distance between himself and the fire. He craned his head, checking to see that Steve was still unharmed before he dropped his head to search for Tony and Rhodey.

Tony was easy enough to spot, the man running away as another chased him. Liberty jerked his gaze away, getting a glimpse of something rising from the fire in the midst of the oil tanker. A heartbeat later, he recognized the red, white and blue of the Iron Patriot arm, parts of it obscured by the passenger that Rhodey carried. Liberty assumed that the president had been saved, which just left Pepper.

He scanned over the tanker, tempted to dive for Tony, but the flash of red and gold scales kept him up in the air and watching the heavyweight.

On its part, the dragon didn’t seem too concerned. It just looked down at the tanker with a sigh. The dragon’s gaze lingered a while on the man chasing Tony before it looked back up at Liberty. The dragon tipped its head to the side, making a sound that could have been regret. Whatever it meant, the heavyweight shook his head. “It was coming to this.”

The heavyweight turned away, flying away from the _Norco_ like it meant nothing to him. Liberty was shocked by the reversal. The dragon had risked injury and effort on the oil tanker only to turn away. He growled low in his throat and darted forward to catch up with the heavyweight, ignoring the orders that Steve was shouting from his back. There were still plenty of armors that could hold out long enough, Liberty just had to be sure that the heavyweight wasn’t tricking him.

He breathed a burst of fire to stop the other dragon as he came around. The heavyweight slowed, its head rising slightly and its talons curling. Liberty eyed the rings warily, waiting for the flash that always seemed to proceed the impossible, but they just glowed in the light.

The heavyweight snorted and made a dismissive motion with his hand. “I don’t have to fight you, but don’t make me change my mind about it. You’ll regret it.”

The threat was accompanied by a snarl. Liberty was tempted to snarl back, but a hand on his neck kept him silent. He tipped his head to the side, watching as Steve shook his head. Despite that, Steve kept a tight hold on his shield as the heavyweight snorted and slipped past them, disappearing into the night. Liberty didn’t follow, but he did spit a shower of sparks after it.

He understood Steve’s reluctance to continue a fight that could all too easily go the heavyweight’s way, but that didn’t mean he understood the sudden disinterest. To him, it looked like a trap, one that could go wrong if he turned his back towards the heavyweight for too long.

Liberty kept up his tight circles until he felt Steve tug on the breast collar. He delayed as he could before banking back towards the _Norco_.

The oil tanker was listing dangerously in the water, Liberty sure that it would sink soon enough. There were pockets of flame, shipping crates stuck halfway into some of them. Liberty lowered his head, eyeing the smoking remains of one of the strange smelling humans before he pulled away to look for a safe place to land. Despite the fires and the list, Liberty was sure that the tanker would hold his weight. How long after the _Norco_ would last after he left Liberty didn’t know, but he was sure that it wouldn’t be long.

Towards the center of the ship there was an open space, even with the tangled wreckage of metal and flame. Liberty gave the space a quick look over before carefully threading himself through the remains of the supports. He ended up landing awkwardly on his hind legs, still flapping his wings as he lowered himself down onto all four legs. It took careful placement of his forelegs to avoid stepping into the burning mass of metal or on where Tony and Pepper were standing.

Liberty curled himself around the two of them, settling down onto his stomach. He had to curl his tail around the flaming pile of metal, shifting it as far away from the flames as he could. It was still a tight fit, Liberty resting one wing over the remains of a walkway and one leg was stretched forward and around the base of the walkway instead of tucked up under him. Liberty leaned over towards the opposite side, stretching out the awkwardly placed leg.

Steve slipped off his back as soon as he stopped moving, Liberty lifting his head slightly to allow Steve to walk under it. His captain rubbed at the scales under his jaw. Liberty crooned, letting the sound trail off when Steve moved out from under his head. Liberty lowered his head, keeping his muzzle pressed up against the back of Steve’s legs.

If Steve noticed the closeness, he didn’t comment on it. “I take it everything went alright.”

Tony gave the two of them a wry smile, a protective arm still wrapped around Pepper. “I think we did okay. What’s the situation in the sky?”

“Clear, for now.” Steve gave the sky a worried glance, Liberty seeing Steve’s hand twitch back towards his shield. “Killian didn’t have too many friends up there.”

Pepper was the one to look worried at that. “But the dragon-”

“Left.” Liberty shifted after he spoke, resisting the urge to keep glancing up at the sky. “It wasn’t interested in staying. At least, that’s what it said.”

That didn’t seem to reassure Pepper. She let go of Tony, stepping forward to stare up at the sky. Liberty saw her hands clench into fists, surprised by the glow that came from her hands. He snorted at the sharp smell of fire, looking at Pepper in shock.

Tony was quick to step up to her, resting a tentative hand on her shoulder. Liberty saw Pepper jerk at the touch, shifting forward in case she turned too fast for Tony to move. Tony didn’t seem to sense the danger that he was in, just patting her shoulder as he reached out to take her hand. “Hold your fire, Pep. I think we can trust Liberty on this.”

Liberty tried to school his expression into something that humans would find trustworthy, but he doubted that it would work. He settled for disinterested, pointedly not looking up at the sky.

After a moment, Pepper finally relaxed, the glow disappearing from her skin. She didn’t look completely satisfied with the answer, but she looked more tired than anything. She leaned against Tony for a moment before groaning and rubbing her eyes.

Steve took up the cue faster than Liberty could nudge him into action. “We should be going. You put on quite a show.”

That got a tight grin from Tony. “It’s what I do. But the old man is right.”

He started to escort Pepper over to Liberty’s side. Pepper allowed him it for a few steps before she took a deep breath and walked away from him. Liberty watched her go, carefully shifting so he was almost tipped to one side so the climb up onto his back wouldn’t be too far. Because of the way that the _Norco_ was laid out, he couldn’t loop his head around enough to touch his muzzle to her, but he could at least tip his head enough that he could watch her out of one eye.

Pepper looked exhausted even with the flickers of light that were fading out under her skin. Even with that, she seemed more inclined to walk on her own, like she was trying to prove that she still could. Liberty was tempted to make a sound of reassurance, but he didn’t want to provoke her. She reminded him of the dragons that had come back from combat, exhausted by still too alert to welcome anything that wasn’t the sound of orders being shouted and the sight of the next target.

He flattened himself further against the _Norco_ ’s deck, his attention shifting over to where Tony and Steve were still standing in front of him. They were both watching Pepper with different shades of worry. Tony looked like he wanted to trail after her while Steve seemed more inclined to stay where he was until he figured out what had happened. Liberty thought Steve had the right of it. He had no idea what Killian had done to Pepper or any of the other humans that smelled of fire, but it was clearly dangerous. All of that might have to wait until Tony could explain it to them, which could be easily done in the air depending on where they were going.

Liberty shifted forward to nudge Steve’s legs, his captain resting a hand on the top of his muzzle in acknowledgement. “Tony-”

“I know. Attracting attention and getting out of the way.” Tony waved one hand distractedly. “I’m guessing you’re going to leave this for the Coast Guard.”

“I don’t think Liberty’s up to breaking up a ship.”

Liberty snorted in response, shooting Steve a dirty look. What he wanted to do was find a more comfortable spot to rest, but that was secondary to getting all three of them off the ship. The _Norco_ was starting to creak, the deck starting to list enough that Liberty was considering digging his claws in.

Tony laughed, the sound attracting Liberty’s attention. “I wouldn’t dream of it. He’s already flown how many miles?”

“We were stationed in DC.”

“Since when?” Tony looked surprised for a moment before he shook his head. “One of you can tell me that story later. Let’s just get this dragon up in the air before you or him fidget yourselves to death.”

Liberty lifted his upper lip, not bothering to snarl. It was a playful motion, one that Tony understood. Tony laughed and tugged on his lip. “Get that down, you don’t mean a word of it.”

Liberty responded by jerking his muzzle to the side, knocking it into Tony’s legs. Tony stumbled, giving him a weak swat before going around out of his reach to clamber up beside Pepper. Steve followed with a look of bemusement, his hand trailing over Liberty’s head. Liberty made sure to lean heavily into the touch. He wasn’t favoring one of them over the other, but his chances to see Tony had gotten rarer as Tony had gotten older. Tony’s need to charge into danger just reminded him of how short human’s lives were. Steve might last just as long as he did, but Tony certainly wouldn’t, especially not with the way that Tony seemed to be ready to put himself in danger at the drop of a hat.

He lifted his head slightly as Steve swung up onto his back, listening for the clip of carabiners before he struggled to his feet. It took a moment for him to unwind himself from the ruin of the _Norco_ ’s deck. He got his legs underneath him before lifting his wing from where he had been draped over a walkway. Liberty took two short steps forward, stretching out his neck to check clearance on each side and surreptitiously check on the three humans on his back.

All three of them were clipped on, Steve already crouched in preparation for the first lurch of takeoff. Pepper and Tony were sitting on his back, Pepper leaning on Tony and looking like she was already asleep. When he noticed the direction of the stare, Tony gave him a short salute, Liberty shaking his head as it turned it back around. One last check to the sky showed it clear without the strange blacked out disturbance that the heavyweight had caused, not that Liberty thought that the heavyweight would come back. Whatever had kept the dragon and Killian working together had obviously run its course.

He gathered himself up, launching himself high enough to clear anything that would interfere with his wings. Liberty thought he heard a gasp from the humans on his back, but he ignored the sound until he had gained enough height to steady his flight. He banked in a slow circle, turning his head to look back at the three on his back. “Everyone alright.”

Steve was the one to give him the thumbs up, although his other hand was clenched tightly around the breast collar’s chain. Liberty flared his nostrils at the scent of hot metal, watching as Pepper jerked her hand back from the chain in horror.

“Sorry.”

Liberty tipped his head in the best approximation of a shrug he could get. “It can be fixed at the next covert.”

“Change of flight plans, captain.” Liberty saw Steve jump at the title, his captain frowning for a moment until he realized that Tony was talking to Liberty. Liberty chuckled to himself, his attention sliding back over to Tony.

If Tony had noticed the small exchange, he didn’t show it. He leaned forward, pointing north. “Can you make it to New York?”

Liberty cocked his head at that, taking a deep breath. After all of the flying he had been doing, New York would be no problem, but it would be just as easy to drop down in the nearest covert. It would probably be more comfortable for Tony and Pepper instead of a long flight north in the winter. Neither of them had the proper clothes for flying in the cold. Then again, neither did Steve, but Liberty doubted that Steve noticed the cold unless it started to drop below freezing. “Why?”

“Better facilities, actual beds and a lab.” Tony ticked the items off on his fingers. “I can’t check on the stability of the Extremis virus without equipment. And, since my other workshop is across the country and under another ocean, New York is the closest we’ve got.”

Liberty glanced at Pepper. The lights that had flicked over her skin had stopped, but she still didn’t smell right, even for a human. He doubted that Tony would have been so casual about convincing him to go to New York if there was a real worry, but there was something there, especially in the way that Tony held Pepper.

He nodded without looking over at Steve. He could make the flight, there had been worse weeks in his life before. As long as he had a steady pace and no headwind, Liberty was sure that he could make it in good time. It was just another thousand miles, nothing when compared to the rush across America that he had done. He had gotten practice in flying despite the way that the muscles under his wing cramped and ached. It was just a consequence of going too long without flying and something that he wouldn’t tell Steve. Fury was sure to ground him for racing off without asking permission, Liberty didn’t need the lectures from Steve as well.

Liberty beat down hard with his right wing, feeling the familiar pinch of the muscle under the burn. He ignored it and turned towards the north, putting the burning _Norco_ behind him. He let his head fall back into the old way of holding it, with one eye tipped back towards the humans on his back. Liberty was sure that his neck would be cramping by the time he got to New York, but he couldn’t be completely reassure that the three on his back would stay steady, not without the steady regular radio contact that he had gotten used to.

He tensed when Tony leaned slightly over the side, ready to compensate for the slide of the breast collar when Tony let out a laugh and reached out to tap Steve’s shoulder. The two of them glanced down, Liberty risking a glance beneath his belly.

He could see lights close to the shore, the lights bobbing in the water. From the quick glimpse, the boats were already heading out, although it was too dark to tell if the sea serpents were heading out with them. Liberty was sure that the Coast Guard would whistle them up soon enough. The remains of the _Norco_ would go down easily with two sea serpents working at it.

“How about we give them a bit of a show?” Liberty jerked his head up as Tony spoke, giving the human an even look. Tony didn’t look like he was paying attention, his focus on the headset that he was still wearing. “We’re clear, JARVIS. Start the Clean Slate protocol.”

Liberty couldn’t hear JARVIS’ response, but he got his answer on the order soon enough. He glanced over his shoulder at the whine of repulsors, watching as one of the suits shot up into the air and then exploded. He shied to the side at the sound, Liberty catching himself before he could waver too much. Liberty watched another suit go up, eying the scatter from the explosion.

It was bright, he would give Tony that, and it certainly lit up the sky enough for the Coast Guard to see what they were heading for. And, more importantly, it wasn’t his problem anymore. He just had to concentrate on the skies ahead of them to listen out for the sounds of other dragons flying, especially since he was flying without a radio.

Liberty glanced up at the stars, orienting themselves by them as he flew home.


	3. Put Your Hand Out to Me

Lung Shao Jié set himself down carefully in the courtyard of the mansion, hissing his breath out slowly as his legs took his weight. He had been up in the air for hours, darting between the safe house that he had set up and the mansion. He had forgotten how many trips he had made, but at least he was almost done.

He sighed and gave himself a shake, letting the net fall off of his back. He clawed it into place, giving the fountain in the courtyard longing glances. A water break could wait until he had the last of the equipment in the labs packed up. Jié had seen the police nosing around the place a few times. He had waited in the forest every time, watching as the police had picked through the remains of the place. He had seen them lead Trevor out of the mansion on one of the rounds, along with some of the lab equipment. At least those had been the things that could be easily replaced, he had planned that far in advance at least. Jié didn’t think that the police would be back soon, although it was probably the last trip that he could take.

Lung Shao Jié was surprised that he had managed to get as many trips back to the mansion that he had, and that wasn’t counting the police. He couldn’t leave things at the safe house for too long, not if he wanted to get AIM back into some kind of position again. With Killian dead and the news of what he had done with Extremis due to leak out, Jié had to work quickly to save what had been done. A switch of ownership and a new name should have been enough to satisfy people. A coup from the inside would be excuse enough, with enough ingenious human lies to back it up. And, with him at the head of the new organization, everything should run smoothly. After all, no one expected a dragon to lie. Most people probably thought that it was beyond them.

He snorted and walked over to the broken windows in the back of the building. He eyed the lab below before carefully lowering himself through the opening. It was awkward to stand with his front half so much lower than his back end, but he wouldn’t be in the position long. Maya’s lab was the last one that he had to clear out of small, inconsequential things. Most of the important things had gone with his first loads, but Jié wasn’t sure exactly what the humans needed. He had never gone in for his exams, his breed had always been thought to be better suited for the military, so there had been no chance for him to sit. Any number of the things that had been left behind could have been important for the work that Maya and the others had been doing.

Jié eyed the potted plant close by him before gathering it close. There were other, smaller things that were on the desk. He was careful when he picked them up, placing them into his other hand. He frowned when he saw that the filing cabinet was gone. He had never been sure what was in the files, but it would be impossible to find out now. Stealing the files back from the police would be foolish at this stage. Anyone left in AIM would have to play by the rules for just that much longer, or at least visibly adhering to the law.

Between his other trips and the police, there was barely anything left for him to take, certainly not like the other trips when he had struggled under his load. That was the only time he could bring himself to be grateful for the military training that he’d had. There’d been plenty of hauling heavy loads over long distances. Still, his back and forelimbs would be pleased with the lack of a heavy load.

He hissed and looked up at his back, arching it slightly. The red, white and blue dragon had gotten a good shot at him, Jié almost sure that he could feel the fire burning along his back and through his crest. Sometimes, he was sure that he still smelled it burning. Jié rolled his shoulders, ignoring the ache. He was still in one piece despite the middleweight’s efforts.

He herded the last of the objects into his hands, taking care to lift the potted plant so it wasn’t too disturbed. He would have to take the most care with the plant.

Jié stepped back carefully, lifting himself out of the abandoned labs and back into the courtyard. It was an awkward hobble back to the net that he had spread out over the ground, but he took the time to look around with the slow pace enforced on him.

The tree branches waved slightly in a breeze, Jié turning his back into the wind so it could soothe it. He wished that the fountain was deeper so he could cool his scales and the skin underneath them. He would have to wait until he found a lake deep enough to see the damage to the crest that ran down his back, but Jié doubted that it was too bad. Any damage would grow back soon enough, he would just have to deal with the embarrassment of having it at awkward lengths down his back. Then again, Jié didn’t expect to be dealing with many dragons in the future, all of his focus would be on AIM, or whatever it would become.

He nudged the last times into his net, flicking the ends over the pile in the center. He gave the pile a long look before nodding to himself. It would do for the flight to the safe house. There weren’t many hands to help him unload, but the barn was large enough for the lab equipment and for him. Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t ever slept out under the stars before. The weather was warm enough that it wouldn’t complain. Besides, it would keep him close to the house and more able to respond to any threats, not that he foresaw that they would be.

They had caught their terrorist and that would occupy their government for a long while. Jié had made sure to leave all the appropriate documents behind. The Mandarin and all of his actions would be pinned to Aldrich Killian. AIM would struggle, but he was sure that most of the scientists would lie to save their own skins. And they would be coming back, especially since he had all of their research.

Jié dropped his head into the fountain, taking gulps of the water. It wasn’t as cool and crisp as he had hoped. He raised his head, licking some of the algae off of his teeth before lowering his head again. He didn’t have the luxury of being picky, especially when it wouldn’t kill him. That didn’t stop him from rubbing his muzzle against his foreleg to clean the remaining algae off it.

He paused in the middle of the motion, his wings lifting slightly from his side. Jié lifted his head slightly to focus on the sound better. His upper lip twitched when he recognized the sound of wingbeats.

He had thought that he would have more time, or that the middleweight would have learned his lesson and stayed away. Apparently, he had expected too much from the dragon.

Jié stepped over to his bundle, grabbing onto the ends. He snugged up his hold, not wanting to hold too much of it loose, he might trip over the weighted down end. He rocked back onto his haunches, about to push off when he spotted the dragon.

It wasn’t wearing the bright blue harness, labelled breast collar or the flashing lights that police dragons wore. It was a lightweight, the dragon’s black legs and face making it stand out against the clear sky. There was a symbol that he didn’t recognize pinned to the dragon’s breast collar, but he was too far away to pick out any specific parts of the symbol. All that mattered was that the dragon was heading his way, and with a full crew onboard.

He snarled and leapt up into the air, beating his wings in careful strokes. He didn’t want to outdistance the dragon, not while he was still in range. Everything that he was working on would fall apart easily if he was chased back to the safe house. He hadn’t even gotten the time to set up the things that they would need to protect themselves while the Mandarin was investigated.

The lightweight slowed down as it watched him rise, Jié watching as the dragon’s head whipped around to talk to its captain. Jié couldn’t see the human because of the dragon’s neck, but that didn’t matter. Snatching at the dragon’s crew wouldn’t help him any; it would just drive the dragon to anger and close combat would just endanger the items that he was carrying. Still, winning himself a little breathing room would be for the best.

The dragon was intimidated, but not backing down. It was a spirit to be admired, but he didn’t have time for spirit.

He rumbled out a growl, hoping that the dragon would take the warning and turn around, but he didn’t give it much time to take it up. If the dragon had been smarter, it would have retreated as soon as it saw a heavyweight rising from the mansion.

Jié gathered the net closer to him, feeling the strange tickle in the back of his mind that was the rings. Sometimes, he believed that they were trying to talk to him, but they were just cold metal and jewels. How they could work their magic, he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to question them in case the magic decided not to work for him. It was best to take some things on faith.

He poked through the tickle, seeking out the one that would give him what he wanted. He wanted a shock and then a stiff wind to get the two of them separated and him away as fast as possible. Jié didn’t doubt that the lightweight would eventually catch up, but he wanted to make sure that the dragon thought twice about doing that. If he did his job right, the lightweight’s captain would be in for a long argument.

He felt one of the rings perk up, Jié lingering over what it offered before allowing it. He shut down the voices of all the others, focusing on the ring that sat snuggly on his left middle claw.

The ring sparked eagerly, Jié feeling the push of power up through his forelimb and up to the back of his throat. He was far too used to dealing with the rings to start at the strange ways they manifested their powers through him. He resisted the urge to swallow around the strange feeling in his throat, instead dropping his mouth open and breathing out like he was roaring.

A sharp tingle ran all the way up his spine, Jié able to ignore it through the rush of power that he felt.

He kept his eyes open, watching as the white arcs of lightning burst from him, moving through the air towards the lightweight. The other dragon squealed and darted to the side, but its wing still caught the edge of the blast. Lung Shao Jié turned with the dragon, taking a deep breath and prodding at the ring for the next bit of lightning.

This time, the bolt struck home. The lightweight jerked with the strike, twisting around on itself before dropping from the sky. Jié could hear its crew shouting, staying close to the dragon long enough to be sure that it wouldn’t be trying gain the air again before banking abruptly.

He took the precaution of putting distance between him and the lightweight. He didn’t think that the dragon would be able to get into the air soon after the strike, but he didn’t want to drag the lightweight along with him. Jié threw a quick glance over his shoulder, giving the place where he had last seen the lightweight a dismissive flick of his tail before reaching for the ring on his right middle claw.

The ring responded faster than the first he had used, Jié barely having to lean against it before he felt the wind whipping up around him. He stretched his wings out into a gliding position, hissing at the ache at the base of his wing joints.

He had given them a quick look over before he had started his trips back to the mansion. They had moved normally aside from the strange tingling sensation that went through them if he moved them a certain way. The right one was the worst one, Jié tempted to put his head back and nose at the joint. He didn’t dare move his head much, not wanting to be thrown out of the vortex of quick moving air. He had seen what had happened when he had used the same trick to escape from the feral dragons when he had first gotten the rings. Jié could still see the feral’s shocked face before it had slammed into the mountains at full speed.

Jié snarled and bore the ache, focusing on the countryside that was flashing by below him. He didn’t want to overshoot, it would be a waste of effort to get back. Besides, there was Maya to consider. Jié grunted and beat his wings down, ignoring the pain. He needed as much speed as he could get and his wing joints hurt less when he went through the motions of flying. He would have to find himself a lake for more than the aching scales on his back, a good cold soak would help his joints.

It was enough to make him miss his old companion. He was old enough to take care of himself, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t miss someone fawning over him or expressing a little sympathy. He’d had to stay away from all humans for years in China and then Killian had been more interested in what he could do than in him. Besides, Killian had been too wrapped up in himself to care about anything else that had been going on. It had been amusing, for a while.

Jié abruptly cut off the ring’s power when he passed over a familiar patch of land. He banked into a circle, slowing down in the air space above the house and the old barn. He took the chance to scan the area for any threats.

The house had been bought by AIM, but it had been under another scientist’s name. The scientist had long since been fired, another one of the many mistakes that Killian had made. Maybe there would time to get her back, but that would be later and if Stark Industries hadn’t snatched her up yet.

He hissed to himself as he landed by the barn. There were many things that he would have to consider later, things that he couldn’t quite bring himself to focus his full attention on. Jié shook his head, digging his claws into the wooden door of the barn and dragging it open.

All the equipment that he had ferried before was tucked neatly away, but Jié just tucked the net away into an open space behind the doors. He gave the barn a long look before shaking his head. After all the work he had done, he wanted to stretch out in the sun instead of wrapping himself around the equipment in the barn.

Wearily, he trudged over to the small house, lifting his head high to peer in through the windows. There was no one in the house, but he flicked his tongue out anyway. The only thing he could smell were himself and the coppery scent of blood. It was old, not fresh.

He heaved a sigh of relief, trudging around to the front of the house before dropping to the ground. It was easy to move into the loose arc that he needed to curl around the side of the house with his head on the front porch. Even with the opening for the stairs, it was hard to get his head to fit comfortably with all the horns that sprung from the back.

Jié twisted from side to side before he finally found a way to rest his head on the boards and still be able to watch the window. It didn’t matter that the view of the woman on the bed hadn’t changed since the last time he had looked in, the sight of the blanket rising and falling with her breaths. He flicked his tongue out, getting the same scent of old blood. Jié wrinkled his nostrils, shifting his head slightly. It wasn’t a good sign, but it was better than fresh blood.

He curled his claws into the dirt, working them in deep before forcing them to relax. Clawing at the ground would get him nowhere. Worry might keep him sharp, but there was no point in working himself up. It was better to rest while he could, there was the strange lightweight to watch for, although Jié would be surprised if the dragon could be convinced to fly after him. If not the lightweight, then it would be the authorities.

Jié wasn’t stupid enough to believe that the police wouldn’t look through AIM’s records and turn him up. Then again, they would be looking for a red and gold dragon named Khan, of which there was no real record. He had hidden himself as best as he could under the circumstances. She was the only one that he would have to look after carefully.

He tipped his head towards the window again, giving the woman one long look before he turned his attention to the shadowed driveway that let up to the small house. It was impossible to see the sky from under the porch, but Jié was sure that he would hear any wingbeats long before the dragon came. Most dragons would think twice before challenging him alone and, if they were young and foolish enough, he was ready for them.

Jié flexed his claws, his mouth falling open in a dragon’s grin as he felt the rings clamor for his attention. He basked in the power for a moment before sweeping his mind over them and urging them to silence. If he was patient, they would have to be too. After all, patience was a virtue.

\---

Tony stumbled through the hallways of the tower, smothering a yawn. He could feel the pull of exhaustion urging him back to bed. Tony fought it off, swiping at his eyes to clear them. He had already gotten five hours of sleep, three more than he thought that he would get. After all, he was returning to New York and it didn’t take much to look up and see where the portal had been. That and he had been cold from the rushed flight.

Liberty ran hotter than most other dragons, a consequence of biology, and he had been pressed up close to Pepper who had to have been a few degrees cooler than the dragon, but it hadn’t been much compared to the chill wind of a dragon in full flight. When they had landed on the balcony of the tower, it had been hard for him to work his fingers enough to undo his carabiners because of the way the cold had stiffened his fingers.

It had been cold and the roaring in his ears could have been the portal or it could have been the ambient noise of New York. He hadn’t gotten the chance to think too much about it because Pepper had commanded his attention. Of course, once she had been passed over to Bruce there hadn’t been anything to keep his mind from drifting back to the portal. But, by then, Steve had been chivying him off to bed. Tony wasn’t sure what the captain saw, but it was something that he could easily push off to an all-night, all-day flight.

Most people, most dragons, would have taken the flight slower, but Liberty must have taken some kind of urgency from their conversation and flung himself into the flight. The only time he had touched down was to snatch up a cow and gulp down water. It was something that Tony had seen some of the courier dragons do, or dragons on the move with the army. It was probably what Liberty had been doing over the past few days. If he had made the flight out to Malibu and then to Florida, then Liberty hadn’t really stopped flying save for the few hours that he and Steve had staked out the Mandarin’s mansion. It was no wonder the dragon had looked dead on his feet when they had finally landed. Tony didn’t even know where Liberty had finally settled down, he had been taken to his bedroom before then.

He paused at the half open door to one of the rooms. With the tower still semi-under construction, most of the rooms were either completely open or closed up as they were finished. The only room that he had seen open was his own and the one that he assumed Bruce used. This one was partially down the hall, Tony stepping closer and sighing when he saw Pepper curled up in the bed. She had a blanket tangled around her feet like she had kicked it off sometime in the night, but she was fast asleep and breathing steadily. Tony leaned his head against the frame of the door, watching her for a moment until he saw a light on JARVIS’ interface panel flash at him.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, Tony giving the panel a nod before pushing away. JARVIS was keeping an eye on things, monitoring on levels that he couldn’t. He would check on everything once he got to the kitchen. To even begin to function he needed coffee. Once that was done, he could go over everything with Bruce.

He resumed his trek down the hallway, only slowing down when he came around the side of the workshop. It had been the first thing he had set up in deference to Bruce, that and the bedrooms. There were still some upper floors that needed to be adjusted, but the spaces for the Avengers were ready, if they ever did assemble again. Tony glanced at the computers, watching the numbers flash by on the screen. Everything seemed to be up and running, which meant Bruce had been at work, but the man was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and turned to continue his pilgrimage to the kitchen.

It wasn’t until he was halfway down the stairwell that led to the common areas that he heard a gentle rumbling coming from the deep pit that led out to the balcony and landing area. It took him a moment to pull the sound form the New York traffic going on below, it was the sound of a dragon sleeping.

Tony stepped more carefully, edging around the common area with its haphazard arrangement of couches and chairs. The area had once been picture perfect according to the interior designers, but Bruce had been given the run of the tower for months now. Apparently he had taken it upon himself to rearrange things to his liking. Then again, more of the couches and chairs could have been moved to make room for the thirty foot dragon that was currently loosely coiled in the dip in the floor.

Liberty hadn’t made it much beyond the huge doors that Tony had installed in the glass wall expressly for the purpose of allowing dragons in. The pit in the floor was deep for the same reason, the floor rising up to meet the rest of the floor in large stairs, certainly large enough for a dragon to stretch out on without being reduced to lying along uncomfortable stairs. It was just one of the ideas that the contractor had had about what to do with the dragon since Tony had no intention of letting Liberty languish in the lower levels of the building. He hadn’t been able to swing Liberty having his own room within the tower, but putting him in the common areas had seemed like the best compromise. Tony doubted that anyone would be spending all of their time in their rooms. If anything, they would be out in the field more often than not. And, with the workshop mostly open, Liberty could look in at any time, although Tony had mostly done that for his own gratification. Now that Liberty wasn’t busy with SHIELD, he wanted to give himself every opportunity to work with the dragon.

Tony circled the conversation pit, watching as Liberty twitched slightly in his sleep. The dragon huffed and nudged his muzzle further back on the couch, Steve moving slightly with the motion.

The captain was sprawled out on the couch, using Liberty’s muzzle as a pillow. One of Steve’s arms was flung over the rest of the dragon’s muzzle while the other was resting on the shield that was propped up against the couch.

Tony shook his head and kept padding carefully across the floor. He didn’t want to risk waking the dragon. Liberty wouldn’t snap at him, but he doubted that the dragon would be happy and Tony didn’t want to have to deal with Steve being out of sorts because his dragon had been woken up too early.

He had made his halfway to the kitchen before he noticed that Bruce was awake. The man was curled up in one of the chairs with a cup of tea in his hands. Tony couldn’t tell if Bruce was watching Liberty or the city. Tony glanced over at the wall of windows, watching some courier weight dragons rush by. A middleweight lumbered by, the dragon peering in through the windows before the human on its back called it back to task. Tony gave the dragon a lazy salute before finishing his trudge to the bar.

Tony leaned against the back of the bar, groaning when he saw that a pot had already been made. He groped for a mug, not bothering to look at it too long before he poured the coffee in. He didn’t bother to put down the carafe before gulping down the coffee, only coughing a little at the temperature. He thought he heard Bruce snort from his chair, but he ignored the sound. Bruce would just give him a lecture about taking his time and enjoying the end result, but Tony was sure that Bruce expected those lectures to be ignored.

He poured himself a second mug, sipping at it as he turned around to look at the common room of the tower. Aside from the soft noises that Liberty made in his sleep, it was far too empty. Tony frowned and glanced up at the workshop. He had never intended the tower to go unused, but it was how things had fallen after the Chitauri. Thor had never come back from Asgard, Clint had disappeared to somewhere with Natasha in tow. Steve had gone out to the SHIELD covert but Tony didn’t know how long that had lasted. He hadn’t even heard that Steve and Liberty had been transferred down to DC. Tony had fully intended to stay in the tower, but it was hard when every time he looked up he could see the portal yawning above him.

He shuddered and stared down at his coffee, trying to shake the cold that sunk into his bones at the thought of space with all of the Leviathans heading down towards him.

The clink of a mug on the counter drew his attention, Tony glad for the distraction. He was tired of the dreams of space, tired of the panic attacks.

He slumped back against the counter, nodding as Bruce slid onto one of the bar stools. Bruce kept his hands cupped around his mug of tea, his gaze drifting back over to where the tops of Liberty’s spikes could be seen.

Bruce let him have a few more moments of silence before he cleared his throat. “I didn’t think you would be up.” Tony turned his head to look back at him, watching as Bruce shrugged. “When you managed four hours I assumed that exhaustion had caught up.”

“Not yet.” Tony gave Bruce a wry smile before jerking his head towards the workshop. “Got anything?”

“Running analysis.” Bruce made a disgusted face, quickly smoothing it back to a neutral expression. “JARVIS has been keeping me up to date, but I want all the data before I start making too many theories. Give it a few more hours.”

Tony grunted in response. He wanted to push, but bothering JARVIS about it would get the same answer. Pepper was stable, which meant that they had time to work through the tangle of the virus that Maya had created. He frowned and stared down at his coffee again. It was enough to make him wish that he had managed to grab the calculation that he had made on the back of the old nametag, but it had gone with Maya to wherever she had been taken. The police probably had her body now, and the news would explode, if it wasn’t already about Killian. After months of terror, the Mandarin had been caught, the people of the United States could rest in peace knowing that it had been saved, but it had been close.

Then again, he had always been dealing with close calls, but those had never unnerved him the way that dealing with the Mandarin had. The way New York had.

He had always managed to keep the fall out on firmly on himself, because he could handle it. The Avengers were barely better, but at least it was a problem landing on shoulders that could handle it. People like Pepper and Happy should have been kept out of danger. And yet, Pepper was in a room down the hall with a virus that could have killed her running through her veins.

He set his mostly empty mug on the counter, leaning back against it as he tried to keep his head from spinning. It was almost instinct to reach out for his armor, expect that it was gone. All of the armors that had been in Malibu had been destroyed. Tony was sure that there was another suit in the Tower, and it was tempting to step into it to protect himself from the next blow coming. But that would only be protecting himself.

“Tony.” He jumped at the sound of his name, focusing on Bruce. With the expression on Bruce’s face and the way that he was leaning forward, Bruce had been trying to get his attention for a while. Bruce stared at him for a moment before shifting on the bar stool. “If you can stand to stay here, we can work faster.”

Tony relaxed a bit at the offer, not that he had much of a choice. His house in Malibu was destroyed. There were always the small houses that his father had bought over the years, but Tony couldn’t bring himself to stay in any of those. There was too much of Howard there for his comfort. The Stark Tower was one of the few things that were his own, and it was the only place with the lab that could do the work, unless he could convince Fury to let him have a crack at the equipment that Maya had worked on. Considering that he had saved New York from a bomb and the president from the Mandarin, Tony figured that Fury owed him a favor.

He twisted to retrieve his mug, pausing when he saw Steve walking up the stairs towards them. The captain looked far less put together than the other times that Tony had seen him, including after a fight.

Steve paused at the top of the stairs, glancing between the two of them like he was shocked that they were there. He shrugged it off in the next moment, walking over to lean on the bar next to Bruce.

When he didn’t immediately speak up, Tony looked back over, surprised to see Liberty still sound asleep even with his captain gone from his side. Tony still expected Liberty to at least look up, but the dragon was still sound asleep.

Tony gave a low whistle, surprised when Steve just nodded. “He’s probably going to be asleep for most of the day. I think we’re going to have to impose on your for a while longer.”

“No imposition. This place _was_ built for the Avengers, unless you’ve resigned without telling me. If not, there’s a whole floor upstairs if you actually want to sleep on a bed.”

Steve looked surprised, his gaze darting up to the ceiling before he looked back at Tony. His shock lasted a moment longer before a weary smile crossed his face. “Thanks.”

“No thanks needed. I’ve seen the apartments in New York. Tiny and overpriced.”

“Not so different than DC then.”

Tony made a noise that could have been agreement. “Never thought you’d desert New York for DC.”

“We had our orders.” Steve leaned on the bar. “Fury wanted us close to the capital during the Mandarin attacks. Liberty wasn’t allowed to fly, but he certainly looked impressive standing on the White House lawn. I don’t know which he hated more.”

“That’s a tough one.”

Steve nodded and ran a hand over his face. “He’s going to have to get used to it again. There’s too much heat on his right side for my taste. When he wakes up, I’m going to have to pack snow against there.”

“You going to start stealing my sheets for your dragon.”

“I’m going to have to. I still have to stitch up his neck.”

Tony stared at Steve, tracking back along the conversation to see where the humor had been lost. He slid his mug back onto the counter, taking a quick step forward to lean against the front of the bar. “Run that by me again.”

“His neck.” Steve tapped his own, his fingers resting against the middle of it before letting his hand drop. “That heavyweight got him back when it took Pepper. It’s held, but I’d rather be careful. Dr. Koeman probably won’t approve of outdated methods.”

“Just letting them scab over?”

Steve offered him a helpless shrug. “You try telling him to stop when he’s gotten an idea into his head. I’m lucky I had my shield and harness on when he grabbed me. Liberty was determined to get out to find you.”

Tony sighed and glanced back over at the dragon. Considering that Liberty had not only made the flight to the _Norco_ but also back to New York without a problem, he couldn’t fault Steve. It was hard to stop any dragon when they got an idea into their mind, especially a ten ton one who had spent seventy years acting on his own. Liberty’s past record should have been a clue. After all, the dragon had dodged his duty to fly out to Afghanistan and search for him for three months, he shouldn’t have been surprised that Liberty had flown across the country for him. Fury shouldn’t have been surprised by it either, the man had served on Liberty before.

He waved Steve on. “We’ve got time to kill. I think the three of us can rustle up a first aid kit. Just as long as he won’t wake Pepper.”

“It’s not our first time making quiet repairs and I don’t think it’ll be the last.” Steve shrugged, although the motion turned more into a slump. “Thank you, Tony.”

“Hey, he carted me up the east coast. It’s the least I can do.” It was easier to wave off the thanks than actually think about what it meant. It was a very soldier-like response, exactly what he expected from Steve and Liberty. The two of them would probably muddle along until they got to a place that they deemed safe and then settle themselves. Tony had thought that Liberty would stop if he needed to, but apparently Steve was a bad influence. It wouldn’t hurt to keep them in the Tower for a little longer and, if Fury had a problem, then he could go through him. After all, Steve and Liberty were Avengers, which were his purview.

Steve leaned against the counter for a moment more before peeling himself away. He sighed and started trudging back to the couch. From the little of Liberty he could see, the dragon didn’t look like he would be waking up for a while. That gave them time to gather up supplies. No one wanted to sew up a sleeping dragon, the first start alone would probably be enough to throw them out onto the balcony, but they could start the cold against his side. There had to be a tarp or two left over from construction that they could pack with snow and tie around the dragon. Liberty would probably complain, but Tony couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t met a dragon that preferred the cold to being warm.

He stepped out from behind the bar, leaving his empty mug behind. With the way that the morning was going, he would be coming back to it in no time. They were playing the waiting game, and it was Tony’s least favorite one.

Tony threw one more glance up at the workshop. He was too far away to see how far along the computers were, but he was sure that JARVIS would be willing enough to give him a heads up if something required their attention. Until then, he had a dragon to take care of.

\---

Maya jerked awake, sitting up abruptly over the pain in her side. She pressed a hand against the ache, her fingers curling through the soft shirt she was wearing and the bandage underneath. Maya pawed at the spot for a moment before she remembered herself. She dropped back onto her elbows, looking around the room that she was in.

The few others times she had woken up she had been in different places, first in what looked like the backroom of a hospital, then in a series of hotel rooms. Now, it looked like she was in some kind of private home, an old farmhouse, something like she would have expected from Little House on the Prairie. She tipped her head back to look at the ceiling, her gaze sliding over the white surface until it settled on the old wall paper.

It was soothing in the midst of her confusion, all straight lines and small pink flowers. It was something that her grandmother would have chosen.

Maya tried to laugh, the sound turning into a whimper of pain. She pressed her hand against the painful spot, shifting to try and ease up on the pressure. Maya rolled to her other side, leaning on her good side.

She was facing the window to the room now, Maya not able to see much out of it. All of the window was taken up by a dragon’s eyes. Maya stared at the golden slit-pupiled eye and the red scales that surrounded it. She shrieked and tried to wiggle away before she really process what she was seeing, but she didn’t get far. She was pulled up short by the pain in her side and the IV lines that were still attached to her. Maya rolled slightly to see where they led, staring at them in shock before she got herself back together.

Maya reached back to shove the pillows against the headboard of the bed, looking back at the window as she heard the dragon whimper.

“Maya?”

“I’m alright. I was just startled.” She settled herself back against the headboard with a long sigh. “I’m not really awake.”

From the snort that Khan gave, Maya doubted that he was reassured by that. She heard his claws scrape on wood, the dragon resettling himself until she could only see the top of his head. It still obstructed most of her view, but she could now see some of the front porch posts but nothing much beyond that. There weren’t enough clues in her room to piece together where she was, but she doubted that Khan would be content to lie on the ground if they were in any danger. Considering how many times she could remember drifting in and out, they had to have been staying in one place for a while.

She cleared her throat, hating the dry feeling. Maya glanced around, relieved when she saw the pitcher of water and full glass waiting on her bedside table.

It took some creative twisting and shifting for her to be able to grab it without pain tearing through her side. Maya took deep gulps of the water, pressing the side of the glass against her face when she was done. She hummed and closed her eyes, smiling when she heard Khan mimic the sound. She kept the glass against her face for a moment more before lowering it, turning her attention back to the dragon.

“How long?”

“A couple of days.”

“How many?”

“I haven’t been counting.” Khan shifted at that, Maya surprised to see the dragon so nervous. Every other time she had seen the heavyweight he had seemed so sure of himself, like the lab was just as much his element as it was hers. “I’ve been busy…”

Maya eyed the dragon before shaking her head. There was some part of her that didn’t want to know, especially with more pressing questions. She pressed the lip of the glass against her mouth, preferring to stare down at the small layer of water left in it than to look at the dragon. “Where are we?”

“A safe house, one that your fellow scientists bought. It’s not connected to AIM in any way and he’s already backtracked on his involvement. Most of them have.” Khan snorted, Maya hearing the rest of his body brush up against the house. “Everyone is swearing that they didn’t know what Killian was doing.”

“Except for me.”

“They think you’re dead.” Khan seemed proud of that fact. He preened for a moment before lowering his head again. “It might be for the best, unless you have a better idea.”

Maya’s hand dropped to her side, feeling the ridge of the bandage under her shirt. She could remember Killian shooting her for not complying with his mad scheme and how it had almost felt like a release. Now she wasn’t sure what she felt other than sore. She rucked up her shirt, peeling the bandage back enough to see the even black stitches. Maya frowned and let the bandage and her shirt drop.

“Why?”

Khan snorted, Maya surprised by the anger in the sound. “Because you did not deserve to die.”

“I created that virus and I let him use it. I thought I was doing what needed to be done, but I was wrong.”

“And you deserve to die for that?” She heard his side rub up against the building, Maya sure that Khan had made a dismissive gesture that she couldn’t see. “Killian doesn’t get to decide who lives and dies.”

“And you do?”

“Did I?” He gave her a long look. “I just took you to get the proper care. You could have decided to give up at any time, but you are still here.”

“No. What you did was save me for your own purposes.”

Khan tipped his head to the side, Maya surprised by how readily the dragon admitted her point. “I think my purposes aren’t too different from yours. You created Extremis to help people, for the applications that you imagined the virus could do. That is something that I want to see.”

“It’s still unstable.”

“I believe in you.”

Maya curled her fingers around the glass, tempted to throw it at the dragon. It wouldn’t help save for encouraging the dragon to eat her, but she didn’t care. It would at least get her point across. “I don’t want to do this, not for you or for anyone else!”

“What about for you?”

The simple question brought her tirade to a stop, Maya staring at Khan. The dragon met her gaze before nodding slowly. “That’s what I thought. You thought I saved you and brought you up here just for me. But what have I ever wanted from Extremis save for it to be of use?”

“Then why?”

“Killian wanted to save people, but only the ones that he could use, the ones that had the whole world telling them that they were broken. You want this for far different reasons, I think.”

Maya pressed her lips together, but didn’t say anything. She looked away from the window, just listening as Khan shifted his position. She didn’t want to give Khan the satisfaction of letting him know what she was thinking, and how right he was. There was still a part of her that wanted to go through with Extremis, because she had gotten so far with it. The virus was one equation away from being able to do everything that she wanted it to do. Then again, Maya couldn’t think of a person in the world that would want to try Extremis after the news got out. The problem was that she could think of so many companies and government that would want it because of what had happened.

She shifted her hands around the glass. “I don’t want to be used again.”

“You won’t.”

“You can’t promise that.”

Khan rumbled softly, the sound fading away as the dragon thought. He turned his head away, looking out at whatever was beyond the porch of the house. After a moment of silence he spoke up, his voice as low as a dragon could get it. “I’m not proposing to be your boss. I think I’m trying to convince you to take the position yourself. What you’ll get from me is support and protection, maybe some contacts if I can find them. It’s been…a while since I came back to them. They’re probably dead by now. Communist government.”

Maya stared at him, watching as the dragon turned his gaze back to her. “Aldrich asked for a name, but I didn’t give him mine. I wasn’t ready to trust him with it.”

“Why?”

“He didn’t seem trustworthy.”

“So, are you wanted?”

“I don’t think so. I doubt the government has time to go searching for one _Shao-Lung_. I don’t think they realize that I’m still alive. They’ve got plenty of others.” His tail thumped against the ground, Maya not sure if it was in anger or regret. “If anything, I’ll be connected to AIM, but I can deny that easy enough. I was never in it for Killian, I was there for the scientists.”

Maya found herself nodding along, some part of her disgusted by how easily that she had been swayed. Or maybe it was the drugs. Either way, she wouldn’t be making a decision on what Khan had said. She was hesitant to tell Khan that, but she had a feeling that the dragon would wait. He had stood by until she had woken up.

She turned to put the glass back on the table, the sound of the glass hitting the wood enough to make Khan look at her again. He watched her for a moment before starting to pull back. “The nurse should be around in another hour or so. I told her that you were injured in a shooting accident.”

“That doesn’t sound suspicious.”

“Why would a dragon lie? Especially one so devoted to his companion?”

Maya let the questions slide, not wanting to think about them for too long. That was a binding agreement that she was not ready to enter, not when she didn’t know the full reasons that Khan was still staying. She could buy that he was interested in the science, but surely that wasn’t a reason for the dragon to brood over her.

She swallowed and tipped her head back against the headboard. “I’m not promising anything.”

“I never expected you to.”

Khan moved out of her line of sight, Maya staring out through the open window and down the tree lined lane. The sight of the drive startled a laugh out of her. The house was just like those in the old movies her grandmother had fawned over, down to the heavyweight dragon walking around the side of the house. Then again, Maya doubted that the Wilders or anyone from Lonesome Dove had a Chinese dragon.

She sighed and let her head loll to the side, watching as Khan walked past the windows there. Maya cleared her throat, watching as the dragon came to a stop. “You said you didn’t trust Killian, but do you trust me?”

Khan shifted a bit outside the window before he brought his head around, one yellow eye focusing on her again. “Yes.”

“So do you trust me with your name or do you want to be called Khan?”

The dragon blinked at her for a moment, the thoughtful rumble starting up in his throat again. It stopped just as quickly. “Lung Shao Jié. But Khan is easier.”

Maya nodded, sliding back down the headboard as Khan walked away. She mouthed the name she was giving, trying to reproduce the exact way that Khan had said it, but she kept falling flat. Maya wrinkled her nose and let herself sink back into her bed.

Khan was sure to be back when the nurse came, so she felt slightly comfortable with closing her eyes. Falling asleep was something that would take a lot of trust, but she was sure that Khan had earned it. After all, he could have done anything to her, he could have left her to die. More than that, she was intrigued by why Khan still wanted her around, and that was more than enough to encourage her to stick around, at least until she was well enough to walk out of the house herself.

\---

Liberty opened one eye as the steady strokes to the ridge above his eyes stopped. He glanced up at the television, barely paying attention to the lightsaber battle going on before he turned his head back towards the hand. He nudged gently for a moment before turning his head and pushing the tip of his muzzle into Tony’s stomach.

Tony grunted, shooting a glare at him before going back to what he had been doing. Liberty crooned his thanks and let his eyes slide closed, listening to the movie as Tony worked around the itchy scales.

He heard Tony snorted, feeling the human’s hand shift, but it didn’t move from the ridge above his eye. “Your dragon is demanding.”

“You can tell him no instead of spoiling him.”

“I am not. Clearly you don’t pay him any attention.”

Liberty opened his eye again, having to tip his head to see where Steve was sitting beside Tony. Steve’s legs were propped up on his neck, something that Liberty didn’t mind in the least. It was easier to track where Steve was when his captain was in contact with him, although Liberty doubted that Steve was going to be rushing around. Any rushing had already happened.

First it had been cooling down the muscles on his right side, then it had been sewing up the worst of the bite marks. The stitches itched now, but that’s why Steve’s feet were resting on his neck. Any move he made to scratch at them would alert Steve, and his captain had already threatened him with a spray bottle. Spraying water at him wouldn’t do anything more than annoy him, but it was the threat that counted. He wasn’t a dragonet that needed reminding of his manners, it’s just that the stitches _itched_.

He rubbed his lower jaw against the carpet. He felt Steve give him a long look, but his captain let him. Liberty snorted and stretched his hind legs out, leaving them where they were. There was plenty of room where he was, most of the couches and chairs arranged on the next step level so the humans could be even with him. With the way that Steve and Tony were on the couch, it was impossible to actually rest his head on the couch with them, but he didn’t mind. The floor was very comfortable.

Liberty let his eye fall closed again, going back to his dozing. Sleeping was all he had been doing save for the few times that Steve had taken him out to stretch his wings and grab something to eat. He hadn’t been aware of how much three nonstop flights had taken out of him until he’d actually stopped long enough to sleep. He was feeling his age now, nearly all one hundred of his years. That was just what he got for attempting things that most dragons his age wouldn’t bother with, nor would any other modern Firecrackers, even with their lighter weight and longer wings. The thought made him want to smile and puff out his chest, two behaviors that Steve would end up berating him for. After all, no dragon would have attempted what he had done except under dire circumstances and Liberty considered Tony Stark’s safety a dire circumstance.

He lifted his head slightly at the sound of footsteps. He couldn’t see who it was from his position, but he recognized the smell of tea, sandalwood and the strange, almost dragon scent that always came with the man. Liberty kept his head slightly raised as he watched Bruce shuffle past, probably on a break from whatever lab work they were running. He didn’t know the specifics, other than they were working on whatever had happened to Pepper and that it was going more slowly than the two of them anticipated. Liberty would have been worried, but Pepper seemed to be doing alright. There were times when the scent of fire spiked around her and her skin glowed orange, but it was nothing like the explosions that Tony had showed them.

With nothing to do but rest and eat, he and Steve had caught up on what exactly Killian had been doing. He snorted and lowered his head again. If Bruce was out and about, that meant that the next batch of tests had gone in and that he would be killing time. There was a chance that he would join them, or he would go off to his own floor. Liberty wasn’t sure what Bruce did when he wasn’t in the common areas, he couldn’t leave the main level because the hallways were too small for him.

He flicked his tail, getting it to loop around one of the chairs that was on the level above him. It was a more comfortable position, especially since Tony and Steve seemed to be determined to watch the entire trilogy. Liberty was more than happy to doze through them, if only for more of the interesting arguments about why they were starting with episode four instead of episode one. Besides, Steve seemed more than happy to not be scurrying around or waiting on orders.

It was irresponsible and something that they would have to answer for, but Liberty was more than ready to challenge anything that Fury said.

Tony was _his_ and they couldn’t just expect him to do nothing about it. No dragon would have just let the danger to one of their own go without a fight.

It took him far longer than it should have for him to pick out the sound of JARVIS’ alert noise over the movie. It wasn’t until Tony stopped scratching him that he looked up with a growl. Tony shoved his muzzle away, not even bothered by the warning growl. He softened the motion with a last pat to the top of Liberty’s muzzle before he tipped his head up. “Talk to me J.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but Natasha Romanoff is on her way up.”

Liberty perked up at that, his tail twitching slightly. “And Clint?”

“There is no sign of Mr. Barton.”

Liberty huffed, but he sat up. He was careful to move out of Steve and Tony’s line of sight, turning his head to see where the elevator would let Natasha in. He had hoped that Clint would be with her, but Natasha was better than no one. At least he could get news on how the rest of his crew was doing.

The elevator dinged softly, Liberty getting up and stepping easily up over the three rises that led out of the pit area. His claws clicked on the tile, Liberty focused on the flickering lights that signaled the floor that the elevator was on. He dropped into a crouch as the flickering slowed down, resting his head on the floor as the doors opened.

Natasha didn’t seem to be surprised that he was waiting for her. She gave him a fond smile, reaching out to pat his muzzle. “Hey, it’s been a while.”

“Too long.”

“Well, we were both busy.”

Liberty snorted in response. He didn’t consider being a decorative lawn ornament busy, it was just like back when Steve had been selling bonds. He had been there because it had been impressive, not because he had been useful.

He sighed and leaned into her touch. “How’s Clint?”

“Getting better, but he’s neck deep in his own project.”

“SHIELD?”

“Personal. It’s helping though. I just didn’t want to get involved.” She gave him a resigned look before letting go of his muzzle. “I came to see where you and Steve had flown off to.”

“Fury should have known.”

“Oh he did, but when you barely report in he starts to get jumpy.”

Liberty rolled his eyes. “Steve told him where we were.”

“Fury expected recovery to be a few days less.”

“I want to see him fly the same distance and then we can talk.”

Natasha laughed, waving him away when he tried to nudge her closer. She sidestepped his muzzle and started walking towards where Steve and Tony were waiting for her. Tony was the one that looked the most nervous, although Liberty was sure that he and Natasha were the only ones who noticed, and his was mostly through smell. Steve had fallen into something that could easily be attention, the only hint that he was caught off guard.

Liberty sighed and heaved himself up from the ground, carefully walking around the three humans. He stepped back down into the pit, staying on the second tier. He had to pick his way through the couches and chairs, but it was worth it to be close to the humans. He arched his neck so he could look at them better, glancing between Tony and Steve.

Natasha was the only relaxed one out of the three, the woman standing with her hip cocked. “It’s good to see you back from the dead, Stark. Captain.”

Steve was the only one who returned her nod, Tony still looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but standing under her scrutiny. Liberty lowered his head to gently push his muzzle against Tony’s lower back. He didn’t know if the reassurance helped, because Tony just got stiffer.

“Romanoff.”

“Don’t worry, Rogers, I’m not here to drag the two of you back for a court martial. You might have a few days of punishment detail, but I don’t think Fury could argue with Liberty.”

Liberty grunted his agreement. “I wasn’t going to just stand by.”

“I thought not.” Natasha flipped her hair back over her shoulder, her attention slipping to Liberty. He twisted slightly, trying to move his right side out of her line of sight. Natasha didn’t seem to mind, her gaze moving along the burn scar before she shook her head. “As of now, Fury is granting the two of you a leave of absence until Sentinel of Liberty is ready to fly again. He’s tentatively put the date at a month from now, but he wants a report sent down for any extension. He wants Liberty flying more than anything. He’s got a new team that he wants to put out in the field with a steady dragon. He can spare Proclamation of Freedom for a while until her crew is assembled, but she should be ready to fly in a month.”

Steve hummed, looking back over his shoulder at Liberty. Liberty lifted his muzzle from Tony’s back, moving it so he could look Steve in the eye. “I should be able to fly at the end of the week.”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “Let’s give you the full month, it’s what you would have had anyway. That’ll give us time to get you back into flying shape.”

“I think he’s fine.”

Steve chuckled and Tony’s remark, reaching out to pat Tony’s shoulder. “That’s because he was flying after you. I can’t have him going at that speed all over the world.” He turned away from Tony, pausing to look at Natasha. “You going to stay?”

“I might as well. I haven’t gotten the full tour of the tower. Rumor has it, there’s a whole floor for me.”

Liberty was sure that it was meant to get Tony to loosen up, but the man remained tense. He huffed and nudged at Tony, giving him a long look. When Tony still didn’t move Liberty sighed and stepped over him. “I can’t show you all the way up, but I can at least show you the stairs.”

He stuck out his leg for her, Natasha rested her hand on it briefly before walking in front of him. Liberty trailed after her, keeping his mouth shut when she gave a wave back over her shoulder. “I’ll see you two gentlemen later.”

Liberty thought he heard Steve laugh, but his captain had turned around by the time he looked back at him. Steve gave him a parting wave before heading back to the couches with Tony in tow. Liberty saw Tony give them one last look, but it was fleeting. Liberty lingered a bit longer, at least until he heard Natasha walking up the stairs. He gave Steve and Tony one more look before rising on his hind legs to continue his escort of Natasha.

She skimmed her hand over the railing, lifting it away to give him a pat on the nose. “Thank you. I’m going to be poking around for a while, so go back to your boys.”

Liberty snorted but rocked back down onto four legs. He kept his head lifted, watching as Natasha made her way back to the private rooms of the tower. He sighed and turned around, walking to the tiered section of the floor in three steps. Liberty made his way down to the bottom, glancing at where Steve was leaning back on the couch.

His captain met his gaze and lifted his legs slightly. Liberty rolled his eyes but walked over to where the two were waiting, settling into the same position that he had been in before Natasha had come in. He felt Steve’s legs settle onto his neck, Tony’s hand resting on his eye ridge a moment later. Liberty’s eyes fluttered closed as Tony picked up his rhythm again. He sighed and stretched out, his head tipped slightly so he could follow the conversation. It wasn’t much, just a few questions and comments passed back and forth, but it was a steady undertone and a way for him to track the two of them. Liberty thought he could hear Bruce in the workshop a story above, and he was sure that Pepper and Natasha were somewhere in the tower. That was enough, knowing exactly where the disparate members of his crew were. Of course, Clint’s position was still unknown, but that he was safe, which was what mattered. He was used to knowing the positions of fewer of his crew.

Liberty tipped his head so he could glance up at Steve and Tony, seeing Bruce moving around in the windows. He flicked his tail, settling into a more comfortable position.

For the first time in a while, it felt like he was home.

END


End file.
